Justice League: Spartan Alliance
by Freedom Guard
Summary: Here we are...the second of my new Halo crossover ideas...and like before will not be updated as frequently. I'll leave it here and see how it fairs against the others okay? No planned pairings as of yet, will change when decision is made. Story is now on Ice, updating all NON Halo stories is priority one.
1. Chapter 1

Justice League: Last Spartan

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Halo or Detective Comics so don't ask me if I do.

Prologue…

Spartans Do Not Die…They are just Missing In Action

( ): Thoughts

…

In space…

Cortana listened to the incoming information that was being fed to her by the beacons that she had released and turned to check on John. It was the seventeenth time that she had checked on the Spartan but she hardly cared for that as she cared for the Spartan dearly and would not let anything happen to him. He had risked much for her, and had risked death too many times for the defense of the UNSC and all life in the galaxy for her to fail in keeping him safe. It had been at least a year since they had been left adrift in the void of space after the end of the war and while this would have been a doom, there were some good things that had made this a lot less dangerous.

There was plenty of power coming from the Auxiliary generators and so far, the Spartan's vital signs were all still green across the board. She however knew that he needed to be taken to a medical facility for treatment to ensure that he was going to survive. She had not been able to detect any signals from ships but decided to not become trapped in those matters for now.

As she looked at John, she decided to see if she could at least remove a portion of the data that she still had deep in her storage banks to free her processors and make sure that she had enough time to remain operational until John and her was rescued. She knew that she was already coming closer to Rampancy, though she had a feeling that she had already reached that point…ever since being in the systems of the very first Halo Ring that she and John had been able to get to.

But she held on and hopefully she would not succumb to the grip of Rampancy, she knew what the results would be if it ever happened. She had endured so much and she would rather destroy herself than turn traitor and harm the Spartan. She recalled how she had promised to help protect him when she was able to finally read his files and learn all that she could of her new charge. She made sure to help him as best she could, and that was best shown in the MJOLNIR V test when that nut Ackerson tried to actually get her and John killed.

As she thought about it, she decided that if she wanted to remain operational long enough to keep her promise to keep him safe, she was going to have to start removing files from her system. This way she could at least have enough operating power to remain online and ready for a moment's notice if and when she needed to be there. It was going to be a while and since the Dawn was still running on auxiliary power from the reactors. This limited the amount of hardware and software space that she could use.

(No time to be picky though, well, let's get this over with.)

Cortana managed to access a nearby server and began to download some of the data that she had in her and also the kind of information that was not needed for her to remain functional. Already she could feel a great sense of relief as she began to operate a bit faster from before, which was indeed a good sense of relief for the A.I as this was enough to get her back on her feet. She began to access more of her files to determine the critical ones that she had to hang onto and the ones she could afford to place in cold storage as it were. Along the way of dumping files that she did not need, she was surprised to find a number of files that she didn't recall ever having, let alone downloaded in her time on High Charity.

She decided to access them and found to her surprise a number of codes that were in the language of the Forerunners. She looked at them carefully and they seemed to be star charts, locations of colonies owned by the Forerunners as well as key civilian and military complexes. This was something she had not expected to say the very least. And as she dug deeper, she found a transmission code language that seemed to be a Forerunner distress code that was heavily modified. She had no idea what it was for until she read some sort of message that was attached to the said code.

'This shall be the key, use this and they shall aid you, and here in this message, my atonement shall be forwarded, you are my examples to my creators…to tell them that I have changed.'

It took a bit more searching until she found the file to be that of Mendicant Bias, the Forerunner A.I she encountered when she had stayed behind in High Charity. In the rare times she had been able to evade the Gravemind she had been able to speak to the Forerunner A.I and apparently he had become Meta-stable, a stage that was considered the Holy Grail of A.I research and development.

Apparently it had been placing valuable data into her while she was not looking and also serving to safeguard her when she and John were in the Ark to finally put an end to the Flood and the Gravemind once and for all. She wondered just why that was the case but now it seemed that it was a parting gift of sorts from an A.I that finally returned to aiding the people it had been built to save after betraying them to the enemy.

It was not something that she had done before but if this was meant to help them, it was going to have to do for now. She began to implant the codes and also accessed the language of Latin as she read that Latin was a workable language that Forerunner constructs would be able to recognize and possibly prevent them from shooting at them if they were within range of defensive weapons.

She soon deployed the beacons, hoping that this was going to help them a lot as she was going to be running out of beacons soon enough. Once the first batch were deployed, she went back to loading away the files she did not need while also keeping a watch over her Spartan as she looked at his vital signs. She could see that he was dreaming right now, and she wondered what sort of dreams they were.

She had a feeling that some dreams were of his forgotten childhood, and other were of the battles he had endured for the long years after becoming a Spartan. Those memories were very vivid and she was amazed that despite the three decades of fighting, he had not succumbed to PTSD or for the older users of military slang, 'shell shock'. This was why she had to give Dr. Halsey credit for helping them as best she could to adjust and adapt for this kind of life.

She also knew that Dr. Halsey was like a mother to John and he never did anything to undermine her authority due t that respect and trust. She also knew her 'mother' gave that same respect and trust back though she hardly mentioned to John that Dr. Halsey found him attractive, he didn't need to know that part just yet anyway.

…

Two days later…

Cortana felt herself feel a lot lighter as she had managed to dump as much of the files as she could manage to do with the limited power and space that she had to work with. That in itself was a good thing and so far, John seemed to be on the road to stability, she however kept in mind that sooner or later, the power from the reactors was going to run out and as such, John would have to leave and seek out medical treatment.

She placed that aside and returned to scanning the area while looking at the data that Mendicant had given her, trying to determine their exact location as she knew that they had no idea where the collapsing portal had sent them both and as such, there was no telling what sort of dangers were there that they were going to have to contend with.

It was not long before her scanners were able to pick up an incoming signal and she scanned it, surprised to see that it was Forerunner. She had no idea what was going on though she hoped that the Forerunner constructs had been able to get the message from at least one the beacons that she had deployed two days earlier, she decided that it would be better that she got John up and awake since there was a chance that things could go bad. It was a risky move but it was better than letting him wake up in a situation that could be misinterpreted as a hostile situation. She began the process of having the Spartan awaken from cryo-stasis and she also made sure to keep her eye on his vitals since there was no telling how his body would react once thawed considering his injuries.

Thankfully it seemed that her fears were not going to come true just yet as his vitals were green and he was soon waking up. Once she was sure that he was awake, she wasted no time in unsealing the cryo-tube, the gas came out and soon John moved out of the cryo-tube slowly and spoke to her just as he activated the magnetic soles of his MJOLNIR's boots.

"Something wrong?"

"Not really, there's something coming our way."

"Rescue?"

"Not exactly, it's Forerunner from what I can see with what limited sensors I have so far, they don't seem hostile though."

John shook his head but placed that aside for the time being as he moved to get his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and managed to also get his hands on an M6G and placed it on his hip while making sure that he had enough ammunition on hand to use if things got to a dangerous point. As soon as he was done, he spoke to Cortana on what exactly it was that they should be expecting.

"How many?"

"At least a few Sentinels and some larger ones, I've accessed what I could and they appear to be more militarized versions of the Sentinels. So far they seem to be more interested in securing the Dawn and bringing us to what appears to be…a station."

John shook his head and spoke out what was in his mind.

"Don't tell me we're going to another Halo Ring."

Cortana smiled and replied.

"No, the profile despite my lack of long range scanners and sensors does not match a Halo Ring. It appears to be smaller and designed to resemble what we think is a space station ."

John was curious about that but decided that his questions could wait for now as he took Cortana's Data Crystal Chip and slid her into the system. The cold water down the spine sensation that came from the action of Cortana gaining access to the MJOLNIR as well as his CNI came quickly and faded just as quickly as she spoke.

"It's been a while now, at any rate, we should go and see just what is going on outside."

John nodded as he moved forward after deactivating the magnetic soles on the boots to allow him to move in low gravity. Once they got to the area where the Dawn had been caught, they spotted the Sentinels and there were indeed a number of them. He tensed when one of them came towards him and Cortana, however, it did not fire it's weapon and it seemed to be only scanning him. Once it was done, the Sentinel began to move with it's fellows to move the ruined Frigate to the possible facility that Cortana had been able to locate. It was not long before they were before the facility and they saw that it was radically different from what they had seen thus far. The facility retained many of the characteristics of the Forerunner design of structures but was more in line with a Shipyard with a space station that could either be a port or a defense station of sorts. The Spartan wondered just what sort of facility it was as he could see that it was not a regular location. However there was no doubt that it was a massive installation and was large enough to probably built more than a hundred UNSC ships each construction period, which was something.

He could tell that the facility was still very much intact and it could prove to be a valuable asset, with the Dawn as damaged as it was, and the Slipspace Drive lost, getting a transport that could take them into Slipspace was top priority and if this place was indeed a Shipyard, then they could get a ship to get them home. However, as soon as the Dawn was docked in and they were allowed to board the station via energy bridge, they spotted that they had company.

…

In the Forerunner orbital base…

John and Cortana tensed up as they were facing an exact copy of Guilty Spark and the machine was surrounded by four Sentinels and these were Major Class as well. John knew that while he could fight, the odds were not in their favor if things went south. However, to their surprise, the A.I construct spoke in a calm and serene tone and a female tone as well.

"Greetings to you Reclaimer, I am Contender Class A.I Unending Vigilance, I am pleased to finally see the child of my makers come to reclaim what is by right his."

John began to relax a bit and while he was still a bit wary, he knew better than to attack, and spoke to the A.I.

"What is this place?"

"This installation is recorded in the Forerunner archives as Military Base – Gateway, this served as the last known departure point of the Forerunners when they left the Galaxy to live away after the firing of the Halo Array no less than one hundred thousand years ago, this also served previously as a ship manufacturing yard before the Flood conflict and was reactivated during the decades that came after the Flood was encountered. I was assigned here under orders from the Forerunner Supreme Commander Didact as it's caretaker before he himself left with the last of my creators after the firing of the Halo Array."

.John thought it over and then Cortana spoke to Vigilance.

"Why did the Forerunners leave?"

"They left as they felt that their time had come, they had done all that they had felt they had done for the Galaxy and as such, it was time for another to take their place as custodians of the Galaxy, they chose your race Reclaimer. However, I feel that there is much to discuss, and you and your Construct are in need of rest and recovery."

The Spartan turned and spoke.

"Why are you helping us?"

"I do not understand Reclaimer, I was built to ensure that any and all needs that you have are to be met to the best of my functions and that of my servants. Is there something that I have done to offend you?"

John said nothing for a moment or two, but decided to tell Vigilance what was the reason on why he distrusted her and her kindred A.I when he first saw them. It took a while but throughout all this, Vigilance seemed to be taking it in well and soon spoke in the same tone.

"I see…it is sad that the loss of the installations was the result, and even more so for the Ark, but it was the only choice."

Cortana and John were surprised by this and Cortana spoke to Vigilance about that.

"Why do you act like that? Normally the loss of something like the Ark and the two Halo Rings would have been a real source of distress."

"I will not lie, I am distressed by their loss, but I also have been programmed to weigh the options as it were. From what I have determined, the isolation he has endured has brought Spark to Rampancy long before you and your construct have met him. He has been programmed to learn, but it seems that it has become his own weakness. As to why I myself have not become Rampant, I have been able to listen and record much while I was here. I was programmed by Didact to serve as an overseer of all major installations from a remote system that is only accessible to me. I have watched him in his previous installation and he has shown an unhealthy obsession with it."

Cortana snorted at that.

"I'll not argue with that…but hold on, you were watching us the whole time?"

"Yes, unknown to Spark I have recorded everything that has every happened since the time you and your fellow Reclaimers came to the Installation. And I have observed everything through the other constructs you have encountered that I could access well away from his reach or their own which included the Ark itself. For it was where I was built before I was charged to defend this base so long ago by my creators so I can access it on occasion if the need is great. I also understand fully why he became Rampant and killed your companion."

"When you destroyed the Installation he controlled and maintained previously, his Protocol systems were taken down. For you see, A.I like him and myself are programmed to focus on programmed operational priorities with his being to contain the Flood outbreak before it can leave and if it did or came close to, then initiate the firing sequence. And that is why he assisted you as he was without purpose and determined of his own volition that he should have aided you instead of hindering you. When he saw the new Ring being built, his Priority protocols reactivated and he adopted the new Installation as he own. This was not part of his programming as somehow when his containment Protocols came online, his operational prioritization programming failed. He was to use ANY means to contain the Flood, even if it meant that the Ring had to be destroyed and even the Ark, but he overrode that by being…'sentimental' as it were."

Cortana became incredulous at this and John was in the same shape as he spoke evenly.

"So he killed Johnson, and tried to kill me, Cortana, and the Arbiter…all because of sentimentality?"

"Yes…my creators suffered much in the war with the Flood and they had committed many agonizing decisions, some harder than most could bear. Spark became attached to his previous installation and the new one, and through it he fell into Rampancy. However, the codes that gave you recognition to my scanners included a message on how you came here. Mendicant has changed, and while he knows that his actions cannot fully atone for his betrayal, his message of making amends shall be preserved and given to the Forerunners. My concern however is now for you and your Construct Reclaimer, we have much to do before you can go back to your people if you so desire. There is much that must be done and there will be dangers that you and your race must be prepared for if and when you must take the mantle given to you by my creators."

"What do you mean?"

"My creators made many mistakes, bitter and painful mistakes and they have charged me to make sure that you Reclaimer, as well as all of your kindred will not make the same mistakes they did. They had removed many of their most potent technologies in their arsenal as they thought that there was no need for weapons in a galaxy in peace, they believed that they should avert conflict for all races and that peace was a better choice, and believed that they were best suited to defend all bio-diversity in the galaxy. This cost them everything…as well as their lives. Those that survived, including Didact vowed never to make those mistakes, their goals were noble, that is true…but they learned that in order to truly grow, there must be conflict and the races should rise through their own merits…not enforced peace."

"The Flood came from beyond the rim, this much my creators knew, and this had told them that there may be other, more powerful threats beyond the rim as well. They no longer could defend the Galaxy and they felt that their failure to do so was of their own making. That is why they chose a race that could grow, thrive, and adapt…your race Reclaimer as their successors."

Vigilance turned and then the facility came to full power as she spoke.

"Now the time has come to reclaim what you have been marked to inherit."

…

It had taken at least several weeks since John had relinquished the MJOLNIR to be upgraded by Cortana in the Forerunner naval base. It was a bit difficult for the man to move around without being in his armor as he felt positively vulnerable and naked without it. This was to be expected in the Spartans since they treated the MJIOLNIR as more than some sort of combat system.

During psyche evaluation runs made by UNSC doctors and psychiatrists they had determined that the Spartans had grown so used to wearing their MJOLNIR constantly that they had actually bonded to it. This meant that they felt uncomfortable and vulnerable without the armor on them at all. This was true within the majority of the Spartans with the exception of Grey Team as they were not above working outside of their MJOLNIR if they needed to.

John however ignored that and was currently taking the time to read up on the files before him. The data that he had gathered from the Forerunner facility known as the Ark had been invaluable indeed and the information could be useful in more ways than one. It had amazed him that Cortana had managed to hold all this information and not become Rampant, and at least when they got to this facility, she was finally able to get repairs as well as upgrades.

He also was thankful that there was a viable medical facility in this base that helped deal with the majority of his injuries. His 'Spartan Healing' had helped but he knew that he still needed viable medical care to deal with the injuries. The machines that helped with the healing were remarkably effective as he had recovered in a matter of hours. The Spartan was then told by Cortana that she had recovered special medical files to help him recover better and even improve as well as repair his currently present augmentations.

He had asked just where she got them and she replied that Mendicant Bias had placed these files and more into her and she had managed to hold onto them. The files pertained on the development of the Forerunner equivalent of augmentations. These had been developed late in the Forerunners' time and had seen wide spread use by their top soldiers or equivalent to the Spartans of the UNSC or the Covenant SpecOps. These soldiers had fought decisive battles with the Flood in the past though they were not able to do much and were eventually defeated by the numerically superior Flood which used their own technology against them. The reasons was with the Forerunner downsizing their military forces, the fact that the Flood was able to use their own tactics against them, and the breakdown of their military stockpiles which had left them bereft of their more potent weapons.

The files revealed that the augmentations given to the Forerunner Special Forces soldiers were far more advanced but totally organic and as such was not the same as the ones done to the Spartan IIs. which was more artificial. These augmentations were focused more on a natural and not artificial way to increase the combat abilities of their users and Cortana determined that they could still work with the existing augmentations he had and even improve them without complications.

John had some level of distrust, but after all he had seen and experienced, he was going to need all the advantages that he could get his hands on. The procedures had been utterly painless and had helped him recover quickly and made him a lot stronger. The medical procedures also served to repair the damage on the augmentations on his body that had slowly been accumulated in his long career as a Spartan.

In retrospect, he was a lot healthier and stronger than he had ever been. And this had been a good thing for him and he was now going to focus on getting ready for that was needed if and when they returned to the UNSC once the Frigate had been rebuilt. This had given Cortana plenty of time to experiment with their gear and equipment.

After reading all the files that Cortana had on hand, he concluded that the Forerunners had made a difficult choice all because of not keeping in mind that peace had to be protected. Their move to demilitarize themselves was noble in itself, but was foolish as well as it had left them totally ill prepared and supplied t fight the Flood. Still, they had done the impossible and fired the proverbial bullet in the head of the galaxy to stop the Flood.

And now they left their technology and legacy to Humanity, marking them as their legitimate heirs. That was very surprising to the Spartan as well as Cortana when she read it, and while it was the reason that the Covenant leadership started the war with the UNSC, it was something of an honor to be the ones chosen to be the guardians and custodians of the galaxy. And unlike the Forerunners, Humanity was more dynamic and while there were indeed people who were corrupt, evil, and the like, there were just as many who were good and honorable as well.

One thing was certain, things were going to be very interesting from here on out. It was here that Cortana appeared from a nearby holo-display and spoke to John.

"John, the project for the MJOLNIR is complete, care to see your new suit?"

"Right."

As the Spartan moved to the area to the assembly yard, he noted a number of humanoid suits there and rightly guessed that these were the Forerunner Combat Skins he had read about in Cortana's supply of files. These served as multipurpose suits for the Forerunners, some for civilian use, and others for purely military functions. As he recalled what he learned of the Combat Skins, he was able to see just how the Forerunners had been able to maintain their control and stewardship of the galaxy, and how the Flood had been able to over power them by using their own technology against them.

They arrived in what would be described as a massive factory and there in the middle was the MJOLNIR, it looked brand new, as if fresh out of Seongnam Korea. But John was not the kind to be fooled by first appearances, he could see that the MJOLNIR seemed different somehow, a lot more powerful than he had first worn it back in the ODP Cairo. He turned to Cortana who was smiling a great deal at the pet project that she had been working on.

"Care to fill me in?"

Cortana turned and gave an impish smile.

"Sorry, even if I did build it with the help of the factory and made a number of changes to it, I'm still in awe. Anyway, I had the chance to look up my 'mother' Dr. Halsey's notes on her development of the MJOLNIR and determined that she was able to devise a Mark VII variant of the MJOLNIR."

"Mark VII? Why have I never heard of this before?"

"It was something that Dr. Halsey had on her journal which I happen to know of, in it she had plans to develop the Mark VII and it has a quite a number of advanced features. This included a fusion/plasma hybrid power system so it actually has two reactors in it at the same time. She also devised the Mark VII to have limited manipulation of the Shield systems to make airfoils, over flaps and more besides though it's still limited. She had in mind built in atmospheric insertion technology and also for Slipspace work. And last she envisioned the presence of Active A.I transfer protocols."

John nodded though he smiled mentally at the way the woman had envisioned her personal creation for her Spartans. However he had to admit that he was rather confused as to why such a system was never fielded.

"How come it was never developed?"

"Time was against us John, it was barely past the planning phase and into the testing phase when Reach happened."

John nodded, now understanding that with the fall of Reach, the place where the MJOLNIR Mark VII could be made had been lost to the enemy. And it was with the loss of Reach that a vast portion of the UNSC's military and strategic resources were lost. He placed those thoughts aside for the time being and focused on the other matters, namely on what sort of changes had Cortana been working on with this new MJOLNIR model.

"So what can we expect from this version?"

Cortana smiled even more and replied.

"I took the liberty of using the data from the MJOLNIR's own records as well as the data we have from the Forerunner's own technology as well as their Combat Skins. The new version of the MJOLNIR has a new alloy to form the helmet, the outer combat shell, and the inner suit itself. This alloy is a specially made Titanium-Tungsten carbide mix that is altered at the molecular level and is able to be much denser than either metal but not become heavy in any fashion so it's not going to weigh you down easily. And thanks to the Forerunner manufacturing data as well as their machines, the alloy is made in thin sheets at the molecular level, the end result is an outer armor shell that is extremely resilient both energy based weaponry, explosives, standard ballistics, and advanced ballistics."

"How resilient are we talking about here?"

"You can take enough firepower to equal a Lance of Covenant soldiers firing none stop for one and Plasma Grenades will not be able to damage you much as well. Taking a Gauss Round in the chest or any other part of the body will not be enough to stop you at all. Plus the armor is able to handle hazardous environments as well and is hardened from radiation, EMP, chemicals, and more as par the requirements of the MJOLNIR series. Plus we also have an upgrades refractive coating to further disperse heat and energy from the armor for increased survivability from energy damage."

John nodded with satisfaction showing on his face, there was no doubt that if this one passed the trials that he had no doubt Cortana had prepared in detail, this could be the key evening up the odds for them in battle. But he decided to take his time and wait for Cortana to fill him in on the rest of the features that she managed to place into this MJOLNIR.

"I also took into account the Shield systems, with the MJOLNIR's new hybrid reactor system we can divert enough power to increase Shield strength to be able to handle most threats. I got is from the Class 18 Combat Skin which is the highest ranking one that we found so far in the manifest of this base's supply area. The Shields on this are incredible and are more than enough to give you high level protection from most if not all threats. Just don't get cocky with them as they still need to recharge if they run low or fail."

John smiled slightly and Cortana smiled right back and he spoke to her.

"Anything else?"

"Yes, I managed to access some of the data that we had from the development and research databases back on Reach and I have managed to incorporate something new into the MJOLNIR, this a special healing module that uses the principles of the Sterile Field Generator but is able to help heal injuries without you having to go back to a medical center for treatment. This was developed back on Reach if you were to recall, but we never got the supply of the devices in time during the Fall of Reach either. This works with the new onboard medical care systems we have on hand since we replaced the Biofoam we normally use with a new medical agent from the Forerunner database."

"What is that?"

"I'll call it Bio-gel, the name is a bit odd for sure, but it is the same as Biofoam, yet uses what appears to be a special synthetic cell that are totally organic and can help heal injuries and speed up the natural recovery process without adverse effects to the body. Like Biofoam, it can seal wounds, mend tissue and organs, and also set bones, but unlike it, the effects are longer lasting and semi permanent. This can be pretty useful as the MJOLNIR can manufacture the Bio-gel on site and that is a serious advantage in any case. Plus it is also suited for the augmentations you have as well so no side effects to boot"

"Not bad…those will certainly come in handy."

Cortana smiled at that and replied.

"I knew you would like that, anyway, the new MJOLNIR also happens to have a number of other features as well as improved ones, it's a lot more stream lined and as such, grappling points on it are less in number so this can be an edge in CQC. The Reactive Metal Liquid Crystal Layers had to be repaired as well as given a greater level of power and performance to even up for the increase in power, and it is going to be rather roomy in there for me as well, the Force Multiplication Circuits have been replaced with new and improved due to burn out damage. Lastly, the Hydrostatic Gel has been cleared of any viscosity and improved for a smoother function base. And I have installed the features that Dr. Halsey had in mind so we can really be able to hold our own if we need to. All in all, it's about the same but with the upgrades, this should be more than enough for now."

John nodded and decided to get into the MJOLNIR and get it through it's paces before taking it out for battle when he got back to the UNSC. The war might be over but he doubted that the Jiralhanae, the loyal Kig-Yar, the Unggoy, the Yan'me, and the Prophets that survived, if any were going to let the matter fall. They were still going to be threats that the UNSC had t deal with and there was the chance that the Insurrection was going to be around to make life even harder for the people back home.

He was no doubt going to be assigned to deal with those two factors and if needed, help deal with relief and peace keeping missions when he and Cortana got back to the UNSC. But all that can wait for now as they had a lot of work to do. Besides, until the Dawn was rebuilt and also given a vital amount of needed upgrades and retrofits, they were not going to be going anywhere.

…

It was not just the MJOLNIR that underwent an overhaul either, Vigilance had helped in the development of new weapons while retaining the look and appearance of UNSC weaponry. The A.I had admitted that she was surprised at the low powered weapons used by her creator's successors but did her best to make more of them, though she did experiment with the gun-powder mixtures to create a greater level of power with their ignition.

The new addition was based on Gauss technology and it was something that John enjoyed considerably as he tested each new weapon. While the whole line off Gauss weapons retained the look of the UNSC standard infantry arsenal, they did have some traits that were different. They relied on ammunition like regular weapons but their ammunition no longer relied on gun powder and were in different varieties for a variety of battles.

The first was the standard solid tungsten round for AP duty, next was the especially made Shredder Rounds that could splinter on impact on fleshy targets, ballooning outward to cause tissue damage, next were Phased rounds, specially coated rounds that had the ability to refract energy and allow them to bypass shields though in doing so, they lose a portion of their mass and could not do as much damage to their targets, but could easily bypass shields, the next was a special round that had a small amount of specially made fissionable material that while not nuclear in nature were made to unleash small yet powerful EM pulse blasts, this made them deadly to robotic targets unless shielded against EMP.

These were certainly welcomed by the Spartan as these could give them a much needed edge in battle. The same could be said for the next branches of weapons.

The first Energy Weapon branch was based on two concepts, the first being from the Spartan Laser, and the other being the Pulse Beams of the Forerunners, which were more advanced than that of the Laser Technology fielded by the UNSC. The Pulse Beam weapons were limited to the infantry weapons as they were pre-dominantly used as anti infantry weaponry while the Spartan Laser was improved to have a stronger power supply and improved firing rate to make it more effective as an anti-armor weapon. The end result was that if traditional ballistics and Gauss were not enough, then Lasers were the next step. They were powered a clip that housed not bullets but a special fuel cell that could be recharged and used in combat.

The Second branch was Plasma itself, and both of them were surprised to learn that the Covenant's plasma technology was considered as crude and weak by Vigilance, and the Forerunners had actually taken Plasma to a much higher level than thought possible by anyone. That was why the Plasma branch was based on the Forerunner data on the Sentinel Beams and as such, the new versions were better in some senses to the Covenant weapons as they had tremendous range, power supply, and damage power. The weapons were in the same form as the UNSC weapons as per the request of the Spartan for more familiarity than most would think. To keep them from overheating, they were armed with special clips that took in the heat as well as excess plasma and recycle it back for use. The new Energy Swords were also just as impressive and can be very helpful in close combat due to the improved battery supply as well as the now deep blue plasma that was emitted from the handles..

There were also some Forerunner weapons that could create solid light to form barrels and when used in conjunction with another like them, could produce a beam of immense power though the once carried by two hands could not be used in conjunction with another. These were taken by John as well.

The last branch was actually based on ONI's Hard Sound Rifle, in which sound was formed into a strong, solid mass of energy with high kinetic force. The advantage this weapon had over regular Sniper Rifles was that it left no bullet wounds on the target, made no audible noise, and no powder or burn residue on impact. It achieved such kills by actually obliterating internal organs, literally shredding them on impact This made it a perfect assassin's weapon and while John had no idea why Cortana had the weapons made, he was sure that there was good reason for it anyway.

…

So far the Dawn had been given a number of changes to fit with the needs that Cortana had in mind since there was no telling just how far they were in the galaxy from Earth. The Frigate had been given a much higher increase in terms of size, armor plating, as well as new weapons to make it a more effective warship. In this way, if it ever encountered a threat where regular weapons did not meet the needs of the battle, it now had options to choose from on how to raise absolute hell. It was given an improved MAC Gun design mirroring the Autumn's improved MAC Gun which naturally included the firing rate and ammunition, and it carried not one or two, but three of these weapons.

The Dawn now sported not just Gauss Turrets based on the Gauss Cannons for countering fighters and attacking missiles, but also large Mass Driver turrets, smaller scale versions of MAC Guns. They were usually used to fling supplies and at times waste into orbit, but could become effective weapons when needed. These Mass Drivers were made to do just that and were more mobile versions of the MAC Guns as all three were the spines of the ship.

There were also energy weapons as well to further add more power to the Dawn if it needed to get in and out of a fight. This included Sentinel Beam Turrets, Pulse Laser Turrets, and the feared Plasma turrets that could fire unguided or guided Plasma 'torpedoes'.

They were balanced by banks of Forerunner Missile pods that had the ability to replenish itself in the fly and unleash a few missiles or a storm of them if the situation demanded it. The missiles were powerful enough to be labeled as nukes in his and Cortana's perspectives, but after learning how the Flood controlled ships and seeing first hand, they were happy for the extra fire power.

The Frigate had changed and while still taking the Frigate Designation and class, it was already the size of a Destroyer and carried more than enough firepower, armor and more to even up the odds in any fight. That was further improved with the installation of Shield Generators on the ship to add a more powerful wall of protection, something that John and Cortana were more than happy to have on their ship.

And with Cortana now a Forerunner Contender Class A.I, she was more than able to handle full scale operations with the Dawn and more. The Dawn was now powered by not just the regular Deuterium 'Cold Fusion' Reactors, but a reactor that was similar to a Forerunner Navy Warship, and that meant that if the Dawn was patched into a station, it would be able to power the station indefinitely. This was considered low grade by Vigilance' standards, but it was adequate for their needs and uses for battle.

There is also an advanced Medical Bay which incorporated the best of UNSC medical technology and information as well as Forerunner medical technology that would be valuable for the UNSC in terms of treating injuries and saving countless lives if it came to that. Not to mention that apart from the usual number of rooms for the crew and the other personnel which allowed the frigate to carry a full five to eight thousand people with full yet utilitarian comfort, there was also a teleportation grid system that could allow John and others to be teleported up and down as long as they had a special homing beacon that could help Cortana locate them and send them down or move them to another location with the Dawn acting as coordination and staging area for the now termed 'hot insertion'

The HEVs were still there and if there were circumstances where the teleportation grid was not a viable option and time was of the essence, then they would be the key for the mission. Naturally the specially made supply HEVs were also present when supplies needed to be dropped in a hurry and the teleportation grid was not a viable choice to send those supplies down to the surface also due to unknown factors and circumstances.

Vigilance also had a number of UNSC Vehicles made as par request of the two though those had been upgraded and perfected to be more useful in battle if they needed such firepower and armor. And if ever the HEVs were not a viable choice, the Albatross Heavy Dropships and Pelican Dropships that were built would be used in battle to ferry them down as well as all the supplies needed..

While all this was going on, Vigilance decided to fill in both John and Cortana on the full extend of the war between the Forerunners and the Flood, as well as a secret behind why the Forerunners chose Humanity as their successors.

Learning the full history of the Forerunner-Flood War that lasted three centuries was hard, but learning about how Humanity once commanded an vast empire that was a rival to the Forerunners so long ago was even more surprising for the two of them. They learned that Humanity was at odds with the Forerunners long ago and were defeated and devolved as it were to the Humanity that was in the fossil records in Earth. The Forerunners considered them a violent and unpredictable species and had done much to keep Humanity from getting stronger and once more threaten the galaxy.

However, Vigilance told them that over time, the Forerunners saw great strength and potential in Humanity, they saw that while they were indeed a violent race, they could grow, adapt, and constantly strived to succeed, and even when faced with insurmountable odds by some estimates, Humanity eventually learned to thrive and endure as well as unite under one banner for a common cause. And their bravery was also worthy of note in the eyes of the Forerunners as well as their ability of self sacrifice. Over time they became fascinated with their former enemies and saw that from Humanity they could learn more of themselves and their own history.

This came to a point that in the closing days of the war with the Flood, the majority of the Forerunners decided that if they were to finally move on once the Array was fired, they were going to mark Humanity as their successors. Humanity had proven that they were more than able to hold their own and could achieve much, maybe even more than they did, and avoid their mistakes. Humanity was indeed violent and warlike, but they were strong, and showed many positive traits that won their respect and trust. And their ability to grow on their own despite the hardship that came with it was also something that they soon saw as a worthy trait for Humanity to have once they were able to succeed.

That was why when enough of their race had been taken into the Ark so many years ago that the Forerunners programmed their technology to be activated by Human DNA, this was their final act before they all perished from the power of the Halo Arrays and afterwards, re-seeding the galaxy of all life and left, allowing the races to grow on their own as they should have done so long ago. All this was recorded by Cortana as her new designation as a Contender Class A.I which was why she had been gone for so long and needed to be repaired due to the damage to her core programming chip.

The upgrades meant that Cortana was no longer under the limits of the past as she could live indefinitely. The fact that she had already survived Rampancy helped her, and the codes imparted to her by Mendicant also helped strengthen her to ensure that she would never fall again. This was something that Cortana was happy for and hoped that this would be enough to make her keep her promise to watch out for the Spartan for as long as needed.

And with the added space she was able to get all the data she had hidden away before and kept them close for use. They decided that they should at least send a message to Earth once they were well within reach of the Sol System. They were too far away to establish a signal and even if they were not, the technology of the UNSC was not strong enough to receive a signal from them as well.

Once the Dawn was fully rebuilt, it was ready to leave and had a compliment of Huragok and Constructors to help it in any possible fashion in the area of repair and maintenance as well as some Strato-Sentinels for more delicate matters or when gathering supplies from space borne sources. There was also an assembly plant built in as well as a refinery system to process any raw materials that they recovered.

All in all, the Dawn was quite a sight and was no longer as large as a Frigate, but would be seen as a Destroyer class UNSC vessel though armed with Forerunner technology. Vigilance bid the two farewell as her duties to the military base remained to with her and she would be working either way to maintain things on her end. However, she did warn them to be wary as this area of space they were in suffered from a very delicate imbalance of Slipspace.

When questioned by John and Cortana what was the problem, the A.I explained that the location here was where some ships of the Forerunners that were still present but severely damaged would at times be scrapped anything salvageable while those devices in them that cannot be repaired or salvaged had to be broken down. When that happens, the crystal cores that were used in such devices had adverse effects at times to Slipspace and these were what one would call as artificial Slipspace Anomalies and that would be a dangerous place to attempt a Slipspace Jump. John and Cortana recalled the effects of the crystal they found on Reach after the battle on the first Halo and what happened when it came online in Slipspace. That was why there were quick to heed the advice given to them.

The A.I gave them coordinates on where they could get the ship in a safe spot for a Slipspace Jump away from the location for their trip back to Earth. However, she also told them that even with the coordinates, it was best that they be wary and if anything happened that could be the result, then they would have to locate another viable site to initiate a Slipspace Jump. As soon as they were ready for the return trip, the Dawn pulled out of the Forerunner Shipyard and was moving through the area of space that they were not supposed to attempt a Slipspace Jump due to the unpredictable results due to the energies that soaked the entire area.

They also saw the remains of the Forerunner devices that could not be repaired and Cortana could also see through the scanners the considerable amount of energy all over the place. The Dawn then arrived at the set coordinates and Cortana then decided that it would be best to get moving and back to Earth and get ready for the missions that they would soon be undertaking once they got reassigned on any missions that dealt with the aftermath of the war with the Covenant as well as the Flood.

However, it was at this moment when they were activating the Slipspace Drive Engine and opening a portal that an inert Slipspace Drive core that was taken from a ruined Forerunner ship floated by and near the portal…it was small, almost the size of a small suitcase or the kind of locked security storage device that one found in a vaulted and was apparently very low powered and as such would have been mistaken as space debris or too small to be of concern. However the activation of the Slipspace Portal by the Dawn apparently had some sort of effect on it as it began to glow, symbols appearing on it and soon as the Dawn began to enter the portal, it's possible activation sequence came online.

And just as the Dawn was nearly through, the device unleashed a powerful burst of energy that hit the Portal and it seemed to be the same as that of Slipspace itself. The Dawn was caught off guard by this as it was sent too quickly into Slipspace and seemed to be on the wrong course. Cortana was quick to notice that something wrong was going on and John was quick to catch on to the situation as well as he noted that the Slipspace Portal they had just entered was suddenly different.

The Dawn shook as it moved through the portal and as soon as the shaking stopped, Cortana scanned the Slipspace around them and noted that some of the calibrations and readings were utterly off and checked the scanners on the ship to see their records prior to their entering of the Slipspace Portal. She knew immediately that something must have happened to their area of Slipspace and spoke to John.

"John, we need to pull out from Slipspace now!"

"Do it!"

…

As soon as the Dawn came out of the portal, Cortana scanned the ship to find out what had happened to them. John shook his head at the bumpy ride and spoke to Cortana.

"What happened?"

"Hold on, I'm running a full diagnostic right now."

John himself managed to get his bearings and check the rest of the ship with the scanners, it was not long before Cortana spoke to him.

"It seems that the ship is still intact though a bit banged up…apparently something had been close to the Portal for a few seconds and somehow altered it a bit. It must have been some form of Forerunner ship wreckage. The logs stated that before were completely through the portal some sort of Forerunner device that might have been used in their own Slipspace Drives must have been activated and disrupted Slipspace the second we were in it."

John though it over and recalled Vigilance's warning on the matter and nodded.

"That must be the case, at any rate, where exactly are we?"

We're at least a few systems away from Earth, not sure about the exact location, but we can attempt to Jump into Earth right away."

"Let's go it."

With that, the Dawn activated the Slipspace Portal and was soon on it's way to Earth, however, unknown to the two people there on the UNSC/Forerunner Warship they were not alone as a certain someone was looking at them with surprise. This person was wearing a black and green suit and actually had a field of green energy around her form…and that seemed to keep her safe even in the cold unforgiving vacuum of space.

She looked at the ship carefully and tried to discern the origin of the vessel but found nothing that could tell her of the ship's origins, and the glowing disc of blue light gave off an energy that she had never seen before. She watched as the ship vanish into the disk and was soon gone. She moved towards it and aimed her right arm to the exact spot. The ring on her hand unleashed a green beam of energy around the area and apparently was an attempt to scan the area which the Dawn as just vacated on it's trip into Slipspace.

As soon as she was done, she knew that what happened before her had to be reported to her superiors. And if possible alert the others to be wary of the force that commanded that ship.

…

The Dawn soon appeared over Earth from the Slipspace Portal, but the very second it approached Earth, the Dawn stopped and for good reason.

John looked on and despite wearing his MJOLNIR's helmet, he looked completely flabbergasted, and the same could be said for Cortana as she looked at Earth. Normally being able to see the home of Humanity and the UNSC would help make their lives a heck of a lot easier. But what they were seeing was not something they expected.

Earth had been devastated by the UNSC Covenant War, and had suffered a lot of damage as far as he and she knew. The ODPs were either wiped out or were too badly damaged to be of much help, the Home Fleet was only a handful of ships, mostly Frigates with a scattering of Destroyers, debris of ruined and destroyed UNSC and Covenant Ships, and several areas ruined by warfare,. But what they were seeing right now completely surprised them.

Africa had been glassed by the Separatists to prevent the Flood from taking root on Earth and as such New Mombasa had been destroyed as well as half a continent. It was a drastic measure, but after learning the full extent of the Flood's deadly potential, it was a risk worth taking. Several other areas had been damaged and also a number of cities had been attacked when the Loyalists were still around.

But the world below them had nothing of the sort, it was as if it had never been damaged or scarred by the brutal invasion of the Prophet of Regret and then the Prophet of Truth in the ending days of the war.

Cortana spoke at this point as she was still trying to get used to what they were looking below them.

"How the heck did this happen?"

John looked on at this and decided to make a move before they started jumping to conclusions.

"Cortana, let's guide the ship to the other side of the moon and start gathering intel on Earth…something is not right here."

…

It was at least two months ever since their fateful arrival in the area of Earth, but throughout all this, they had kept themselves on the dark side of the moon, well away from any regular scanners and observatories while deploying Clarion Spy Drones to do a full recon run and what they had been able to see was surprising.

This Earth was actually near the timeline of at least early 21st Century, Fossil Fuels were still the dominant fuel source for cars and other transportation despite the growing number of alternative fuel sources, Hydrogen Reactors were not built, Space Travel was still rudimentary and colonization of other planets had not yet occurred, along with cities that they knew did not exist in the UNSC records of Earth, that also went for nations that they saw on the records, the UN was named the World Assembly, in some areas, technology was better and more progressive, and apparently there were several other features that got their attention.

These were the super heroes and super villains who called this world their home. Costumed vigilantes were considered as people who were either playing a prank or delusional in the eyes of the UNSC, and at times were considered as a threat if they broke the law and harmed innocent bystanders.

But apparently these people were a lot more common on this Earth, Cortana accessed all the files she could find and even from sanctioned government files on all the recorded heroes on this Earth.

John was currently looking at the files that Cortana had been able to acquire as he was munching on an apple as he looked at the wide screen computer monitor. So far, the files she had on hand told him a good deal about a few of the more prominent super heroes on this Earth. Cortana appeared next to her on a holo-tank and she smiled warmly at him as he continued to eat the fruit.

"Nice to see you eating something, so having a chance to look at some of the data I got?"

"Yep."

The data in question focused on the Super heroes that were well known on this Earth, with the first being a certain Kryptonian male who wore red, blue and flew about with an 'S' on his chest.

"Super-man…fits the look."

Cortana smirked at that and replied.

"True, his civilian identity is Clark Kent from what I got from the database and from some important recon we got done before landing. He's a reporter working in the Daily Planet and was raised in Smallville Kansas."

"Smallville?"

"I know the name is a bit odd, but the place is pretty good as far as I have seen. Apparently he was raised by Martha and Jonathan Kent when they found him in an escape shuttle when he was a baby. They appear to be a very compassionate and loving couple, good values all around, raised him right, in short, they are kind of parents you would be more than happy to introduce to your girlfriend. They also took in his cousin Kara from Krypton's sister planet Argo when she came to Earth and they pretty much did the same for her despite her being a teenager of all things."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, apparently Super-man is from a race called the Kryptonians and it's last survivor to date since their planet went down in a catastrophic mess though the only Kryptonian natives seen apart from him were criminals banished by Super-man's Kryptonian father years ago, they appear to have developed super powers when under the influence of the yellow sun of Earth, but they suffer the polar opposite when under a red sun. They also are susceptible to the radioactive remains of their world known as kryptonite. The powers range from flight, super strength, speed, near invulnerability, heat vision, ice breath, x-ray vision, micro and telescopic vision, high intelligence, and superior hearing."

John dialed that in and finished his apple and tossed it into the nearby trash bin with pinpoint accuracy and spoke.

"What are the exact effects of Red Sun radiation and Kryptonite on him?"

"Kryptonite is obviously fatal if he is exposed to large amounts of it, even a sliver can be very painful as well as stripping him of powers and extended exposure is going to kill him as well. Red Sun radiation can strip him of his powers entirely or weaken him, either of the results depends on the dosage. And despite his near invulnerability, he is hardly indestructible, he can feel pain if injured, he can bleed and be killed if hit with more than enough force, depends usually on circumstances and he does feel the strain if he does super human feats of strength every now and then."

John nodded as he then moved to the refrigerator and took out a juice bottle and drank it while sitting down and opening the file on Super-man's cousin Super Girl.

"And she has the same weaknesses?"

"Pretty much, but unlike her cousin, Super-Girl is still pretty new to the whole Super-hero thing and as such, has the usual traits of a teenager who has something to prove and can be short tempered and quick to use force on more than one instance. Not to mention she has the trait of being headstrong."

John nodded and switched to another file and this one was of the Dark Knight of Gotham.

"So this is Bat-man, must use the appearance to scare the daylights out of his targets."

Cortana nodded at that.

"Right, his real name is Bruce Wayne, owner of Wayne Enterprises which was founded by his father Thomas Wayne, both parents were good people who fought to bring peace and prosperity in Gotham, a noble mission for a city filled to the brim with corruption and crime. Both of his parents were killed and we can say that he 'died 'there as a child."

John listened and replied.

"So he trained himself as well as conditioned himself as well to fight the criminals of his city?"

"Pretty much, escape techniques, martial arts, science, detective skills, forensics, medicine, engineering, weapons development, and a few others to boot. He's been at that for years and after getting back started his career as Bat-man. He uses a portion of his money for this and also happens to have the usual civilian identity which is that of a play-boy billionaire and a philanthropist. He has some help as well."

"Who?"

"The names of his allies as far as well know include Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, and Barbara Gordon, as well as Barbara's old man James who happens to be the Police Commissioner, along with a few others to boot. The first was the former Robin and had been from a circus family until his parents were killed and Bruce took him in, they worked together for years until Barbara showed up and joined the group as Bat-girl. But Robin got tired of Bruce's tactics of intimidation and finding out about Barbara even when they were going to be engaged, made him leave and give up the uniform."

"He turned into Night-wing after that and currently works in Bludhaven, Tim is pretty much in the same boat though his circumstances are pretty different, his father was a criminal and had been idolizing Bat-man since he was a youth. After being kidnapped by a criminal named Two-face for something his father hid, Tim joined Bat-man and became the second Robin. Barbara took the cowl to free her father when he was being framed and eventually became part of the team. "

John looked at the files on said heroes and recorded what he could and guessed that despite being very capable, he could guess that they were still human and could be killed by many conventional weapons, and considering his own arsenal, he had more than his fair share of weapons. Still he gave the group credit for their abilities.

John continued to look at the files, namely on the alien races that called Earth home…it still was a bit unsettling for him to know that aliens were there and even if there were indeed good aliens like Super-man and his cousin, as well as a few others, he was not entirely convinced that they were all trustworthy. The ones called Meta-humans were of some level of concern for him as well as their powers were definitely not normal. Still he only reserved his distrust to those who used their powers for selfish and abusive reasons, those who did not however were a lot more tolerable to him.

As soon as he was done, Cortana then told him that until they could find a way to bridge the theoretical dimensional barrier between this universe, and their own, they were stuck here. This was not something that John wanted to hear.

"So we're stuck here?"

"Yes, so far we have no idea of there is any technology here that can open dimensional gateways and be made compatible with Forerunner technology. Until we find some way to open a hole like that through Slipspace we are here."

"Is there any chance that we can find any Forerunner technology here in this reality Cortana?"

"I doubt it…if this is indeed another reality all together, then finding any technology we know of that is Forerunner is not very likely since we don't know if they did exist here, even more so if they are, what is their state and situation, but considering what we've seen so far, the idea of a race here that has developed technology to cross dimensions is possible. Whether they are willing to allow us access is the main concern that we should have. And it might be possible that there is technology on Earth itself that might be helpful to us."

John nodded as he had seen some fairly interesting technology on this world that could be rather useful in the long run. But he knew that he was going to have to do something that could ensure that until they did find the means to free themselves and head back to the UNSC. Cortana was well ahead of him as she spoke to the Spartan.

"Why don't we establish you on the ground Chief?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we should give you a civilian identity, have you set yourself as an average person, have a job, that sort of thing. And before you ask why, it's simple. You need to socialize for a while Chief, if we do find a way to go back to the UNSC, it will be a good chance for you to adjust being with the rest of Humanity as a whole. This way we can finally put to rest all that stuff they say about Spartans back there in the UNSC, and besides, even if this is not OUR Earth, our duty to defend Humanity still stands. Considering what we've seen and know now of this world…it's going to need all the help it can get."

John thought it over but he knew that there were still some loopholes in that idea.

"You do realize that we're a completely unknown factor in this world, and we have the chance of being tracked down by shadowy government agencies, and who knows who else who might have a less than altruistic desire to use the technology we have. And I can guess if they find out about you, they are not going to give up the idea and try to either re-program you or do worse."

Cortana smiled as John did bring up valid points and she replied.

"I know, but we don't have much in terms of options at this point. Besides, I still have my ability to create copies of myself which has been drastically improved by the way, and being a Contender Class A.I, I have the ability to operate in ways that regular A.I cannot easily do unless they were made by a highly advanced alien race. And besides, even with the advanced technology here, I am not going to be easily tracked by anyone and making copies loaded to the core with virus, quantum computations, data bombs, and all written in Forerunner Glyphs should make the process of reading the said traps a real workout for the people trying to track us."

John saw that Cortana was dead serious about this and decided that if she had thought all of that through, then no sense not getting things started up, but first they needed some capital. And already they were able to locate one corporation that had it's hands deep in the proverbial load of bovine droppings in crime and illegal technology.

Cortana only estimated that she could take a good enough amount of money then clean it properly to make sure that it was made into legitimate money and would serve as the base for their operations on the surface of Earth, and soon they decided to go and look for a viable location, but well away from any city currently occupied by any super heroes as attracting attention was not in John's MO for the time being.

…

In New York…

Cortana looked at the large warehouse complex that she and John had been able to purchase from the funds that they were able to siphon away from a couple of corrupt businessmen who they knew would now have other issues to deal with as the authorities will be dealing with them. It was not much at first glance, but it was going to do for now as this was a base for them on the surface of the world while the Dawn was still going to be deep in orbit and away from Earth to keep it hidden if and when they needed it.

As they walked in, John looked over the new place that he was going to call home and decided to get to work in getting this place up to speed, it was going to be more utilitarian and not have too many frills and look like a paradise of sorts. John was not the kind of person who thought solely of creature comforts and besides, it was only on the third and second floor that he was going to be staying in.

John had taken the first floor to use as a garage and repair shop for building custom cars as a job of sorts. The vehicles that were currently around were still using fossil fuels and while they were considered old fashioned by UNSC standards, they were easy enough to understand and repair. John took the course on vehicle maintenance, building and repair and proved to be a natural on it.

That was going to be their civilian cover, John was a custom builder of cars and other vehicles for the civilian population and this place was both his home and his workshop. It was going to take a while but it was going to be a good way to keep himself and Cortana out of the lime light until he needed to get used to this world. The discovery of these Meta-humans, aliens, and whatnot was still a bit unsettling for John, but he was able to move past it as he had seen more than his fair share of things that would be hard to explain to the regular folks. He was going to gather any and all information that he and Cortana could get. With the upgrades given to Cortana and the technology of both the UNSC and the Forerunner at their command, this would be a lot easier by any standard and with the perfectly crafted civilian identity that Cortana had now injected into the global database, he was set and ready to operate on the surface..

They had bought the place via the internet and soon arrived covertly to set up shop, only asking for supplies and whatnot to be sent in when they had renovated the place and set themselves up. So far, the two knew that a lot of work was going to have to be done in their earth bound base of operations before they could really get down to the essential operations.

One thing that most people did not know about the Spartan II Program was the Spartans were trained in all fields of warfare which also included the use of espionage, concealment and more. This meant that while they were indeed trained as Commandos for extreme risk missions, they were not meant to be mere hammers of war. They were taught how to gather intelligence, to blend in if the situation called for it, and also to use civilian cover in order together information. One core philosophy that Chief Mendez and the DIs taught the Spartans was that no matter how high tech the military was, it was still reliant on soldiers in the field and intelligence from people who were on site.

This was why the Spartans received more than enough training on how to blend in with people and not stick out by acting like civilians and establish temporary but effective IDs if there is a need for in the field intelligence gathering before a mission is either given the green light or scrubbed due to certain factors and events. There were already teams of John's fellow Spartans who were experts at this, namely those of Grey Team as well as Team Black. The training naturally included cultural habits, social techniques, languages, dialects, religious matters and the like, this was included due to the diverse nature of the Insurrection due to the various organizations and the people that made up their forces and their leadership. So if a more covert approach was needed before the full force approach, then they had the skills, talents and experience to use in said missions.

The reason this was never seen among them was that with the advent of the UNSC-Covenant War, all intelligence gathering either covert or open now had to be done with full weapons and armor and while they do get intelligence, they usually wind up in more firefights than most people in the UNSC did. But despite not being able to use his covert operations training when it came to blending in with civilians, John did not forget them.

However, with this being a completely different Earth and reality, he had to learn the past customs as well as the new ones in this reality so he could fit in even more. It was a bit difficult as he had been so used to fighting that using a civilian identity was the last thing on his mind in any case. But he was not going to let that stop him.

If adapting a civilian identity is the key to survival here on this…Earth, then so be it. And he was going to do a good job while he was at it. It would be an insult to him and his fellow Spartans if he botched up the job badly.

…

A week later…

As soon as dawn was approaching, the Spartan woke up from his bed and did a light amount of exercise to get himself back to full alert status, and while he could have gone for some shooting practice, he decided against it until he got a legitimate gun ownership's license. The last thing he wanted was to get arrested for shooting without a viable civilian license. It was still early in the morning so he soon took a shower and after placing some simple clothes on, he had to go to the kitchen and cook some food.

This was one area of civilian life that he had some trouble with, in his long career as a Spartan, hot and well cooked food was something that was a luxury to him and the rest of the UNSC Defense Forces. Usually offered only in secure military locations or in starships, hot food was treasured by the personnel of the UNSCDF, as they usually used MREs in the field when deep in enemy lines or when setting up proper kitchen facilities was a bad idea.

Cooking was not one of his strong points as this was never included in his training so he had to learn on his own and that was a bit of trial and error. Cortana was amused somewhat by that and while she did tease him, she did help him out every now and then. He was not the best cook, but he was able to learn well enough.

As soon as he was done with some eggs, toasted bread, ham, and coffee, he ate his food and decided to take a look at more files pertaining to the costumed heroes and villains of this Earth. The sooner he got all the details right then if he encountered them at some point in his time here, he was not going to be caught flat footed by any of them. He hoped that he was not going to be dragged into a conflict he technically was not to be involved as this was pre-dominantly a matter to be dealt with by this universe's military and civilian security forces, but his oath to defend Humanity still stood and he was not going to shrink from those duties just because this was not his Earth.

John spent the next hour reading on a few more files before opening the ship. He went down to the first floor and opened the roll up gate and checked his records to see just who was going to be his first customer of the day. He had managed to get a number of supplies and machines brought in to the first floor and with Cortana hotwired into the core systems, he was going to do all right, he even brought down a bank of Hydrogen fueled generators that he had taken from the Dawn's storage area to supply his place with power if there was a power outage in his area.

The machines included the kind one found in a small factory as well as a fabrication yard, all of which was controlled by Cortana and with her upgrades and abilities, plus her existing ones, running an entire factory is child's play for the A.I.

This was not what he had in mind, but it was better this way and earning a legitimate amount of income was going to be very helpful by any length. The funds Cortana had were cleaned and properly processed so as not to leave any paper or electronic trail but it would not be enough unless they were able to invest it and also get a good flow of legitimate funding.

This was why he had all the equipment brought in from legal companies that dealt in the making of cars. This was going to be his source of funding from here on out and with what he had been able to learn, he might do all right.

…

Three weeks later…

The Spartan locked down his base of operations and decided to go and shop for supplies, namely for food and other needed necessities. While the Dawn had a good amount of supplies, and those were kept in excellent condition, he preferred to keep those in stock for now. Cortana agreed with it and replied that it would show normalcy, something that would keep him from getting himself tangled into a situation that could certainly not end well.

The Spartan preferred to wear the usual UNSC clothing, but Cortana insisted that he wear civilian garb, something that he had never done for years, the last time he wore civilian garb was when he was still six years old back in school when he was still a civilian and not part of the program. He preferred to wear simple clothing so as not to attract attention that could very well get him into trouble which was why he wore simple jeans, black rubber shoes and a simple white cotton shirt. It was basic clothing but on him it was a different story.

John was not exactly the kind of man who would easily win a modeling contract, but he was attractive in his own way. The years of extensive training and his experiences made him strong and well formed along with the augmentations with no fat and all iron dense muscle, and while not many had seen his face unless he removed his MJOLNIR's helmet, his face was not bad, there were some small scars, testament of his struggles but they did little to mar his features which were well formed and had all the right features that most men of above average appearance had on them. He was not as handsome as a top ranked male fashion model, but could be considered above the average male in terms of attractiveness and appearance.

The brown eyes were very expressive of his mood, they were usually calm and focused, but had pride, strength, memories, sadness, and confidence in them. Just the kind women would be interested in even though he had pale skin though not pale to the point he would be considered an albino. That and the fact that he was as tall and strong looking added to that and was something that Cortana had teased him about frequently, and much to his combined annoyance and slightamusement.

This had been happening for at least three weeks since he had settled down in New York, as a number of female customers who came to his workshop for either new orders or some needed parts for damaged vehicles had made a number of discreet and indiscreet moves on him. And even when not at work and going shopping, he got a lot of attention from females passing by. Some women even asked him if he was single or married, when they were able to get used to being close to him, though that category fell to the more confident women

He sighed at the direction of his memories as he moved to the nearby garage, unlocked it and took out the Civilian Warthog. It had been custom built by Cortana for him to use while he was there on the city with the parts, wheels, and engine block brought in from the Dawn. It was very much the same as the Warthog used by the military but was built primarily for civilian usage as it had no weapons of any kind. It was still well built and was more of an armored car than a luxury ride despite the fact that he had the color in a simple blue color.

The Civilian Warthog was soon started up with the Spartan's voice commands and he was soon out of the complex and heading into New York for some much needed shopping and gathering supplies for the next few days. So far, there has been little activity that would warrant his attention. However, he had to be ready for anything, which was why the Warthog had a hidden compartment in the back which stored his MJOLNIR, a MA5C Assault Rifle with a set of standard AP rounds, and Shredder Rounds, a pair of standard UNSC M7S SMGs with full ammunition load outs and also some medical kits for any treatment of injuries. This could only be accessed with a DNA, finger print and voice identity scan system and all were custom tailored for John alone, so if anyone trying to access it would get a mild but paralyzing shock as a warning and then things would get interesting if they were to persist. This also went for the Warthog as it was activated by voice and DNA recognition systems only, and with it being well made to be hotwire proof, any criminal with intent to steal were going to have a hell of a time doing that…provided that they could avoid incurring the Spartan's anger.

Normally wearing the MJOLNIR took time, but with the advanced upgrades and repairs, John no longer had to call on a group of technicians to help him wear it and activate it's programs and core systems. And he was more than happy for that as he drove his vehicle to the city itself. He drove well within the city speed limits so to avoid being issued a ticket, and while he kept himself calm and collected, he could see a number of people giving him looks, him and his ride that is.

The citizens who were there looked at the vehicle with amazement at the way the vehicle looked. The men who were driving their own rides looked with awe and envy, children were crying out to ask their parents if they could get one like it for their own time as grownups or why they didn't own one. And the teenagers were stating that it was a sweet ride or they wished they could have one when they were eighteen and given their driver's license.

John ignored that and headed to the mall and as soon as he got there, he locked down the vehicle and got ready to go and do some much needed shopping. He arrived at the mall and headed for the food and drink section and bought a good amount of food to stock up the larder that he had in his base of operations. He managed to pay for everything and was packing things up and head back home when he spotted something going on a fair distance from him.

It seemed to be a number of people, reporters for the most part and they were moving into the World Assembly building, many of the reporters were unknown to the Master Chief but two he recognized easily enough and the same went for the other one.

(Lois Lane and Clark Kent, along with Kara Kent…what are they doing here?)

The Spartan saw them with his increased vision and already he could see why no one, with the marked exception of Kara could tell that Clark was Superman, the suit managed to hide his frame and the glasses gave him a civilian look, coupled with his occupation as a reporter, it made a good deal of sense, and for Lois to be around it would mean that it was a good story. And the way Kara dressed would fool anyone into thinking that she was just a new arrival from the countryside in the big city.

He was curious however why Superman would have his cousin along and quickly guessed that this might have something to do with a field trip of sorts or maybe Clark asked her along to let her see another city as he and Lois were no doubt on assignment, and after reviewing the news he heard, they were no doubt here for a summit in the World Assembly. This was not something he should be concerning himself with, but knowing the Kryptonian and the Argonian, there was going to be something happening.

He got on his vehicle and quickly moved out from the city and located a public parking area to lock down the vehicle for a temporary period. He then got into contact with Cortana who was currently on the Dawn managing the day to day repairs and maintenance as well as some local asteroid mining to provide them with new materials and resources without having to gather some from the surface of Earth, and monitoring the area around Earth for anything unusual or in their point of view, a threat to planetary security.

"What's up?"

"Super-man and Super Girl are here."

"Really? I thought that their base of operations was only limited to Metropolis, what are they doing out here in the city of New York?"

"They must be here for the World Assembly's Alternative Energy Summit."

Cortana smiled a bit and nodded in agreement with John's assumption. With the ever increasing demands for new fuel sources and the cost of making new vehicles still holding up research and development of new technology for such a purpose, new energy sources apart from what was present was to be considered. The members of the World Assembly which in this reality was the same as the UN of their own reality in the past were already there so it would make sense.

"That makes sense, so there's nothing going on just yet that we should…hold it, I'm picking up a covert communication link message…"

John tensed and quickly went into soldier mode as he paid full attention to the situation before them. It was not long before Cortana was able to give out what she had managed to intercept using the technology that she had been given by Vigilance.

"There's a terrorist assault team being sent in to attack the Summit, they no doubt are there to take the World Assembly Leaders hostage, for what reason, I am not entirely sure but I doubt it is going to be good. Better head back to base John, once you get there, suit up and I'll coordinate you for a hot insertion into the building through the teleportation grid."

"You sure?"

"Afraid so, looks like you're going to have to play hero in public for the first time."

"As long as I don't have to say a corny entrance line, I can deal with that, let's get this done."

…

Inside the World Assembly…

Super-man and Super Girl were clearing house as it were with the Terrorists in the area but this was not going to be easy as there were several other members in the remaining terrorist attack force. One being Dead-shot, the other being Plastique, a rogue demolitions expert, and Livewire as well this formed the apparent leadership of the terrorists that attacked the World Assembly. They had been here with Lois to report on the summit when both him and Kara had heard of a bomb ticking away. They quickly moved out and were in their usual clothes when the Terrorists sprang the trap the second the bomb went off and flooded the area with smoke that brought pandemonium all over the place. They rushed in and took several key people hostage and a few others while the rest of the force moved to screen them and their fellow terrorists.

The people in the Assembly were shocked by this and a number of the security personnel were able to respond but they were soon shot up by the marksman and Plastique began to lob a number of explosive charges at them as well, Livewire herself also began to fire lighting bolts at the people as well to make things even more of a problem. Super-man and Super Girl had to do what they could to protect the innocent people there from them but that did not mean that the situation was any easier for them to deal with due to the hostages taken earlier before they arrived and while the cousins had been able to take down a number of the ones protecting the hostages and their fellow terrorists, they were unable to go after the majority for the possibility of harming the hostages in the crossfire. This allowed the three and their lackeys to attack them with some level of impunity.

The battle had reached the main Assembly Hall and soon the place was a warzone as Deadshot, Plastique, and Livewire were able to attack the two Super heroes while using their hostages as shields. The attacks from Deadshot, Plastique, and their terrorist cohorts hurt the two to some degree, but Livewire's attacks certainly added more power to the whole situation. As the two looked on, they were getting annoyed as there seemed to be no opening at all for them as the civilians were still in easy reach of the terrorists' weapons.

They moved back to try and get some breathing room and come up with a plan, but the three new that and were constantly attacking them while using the hostages force the two Super heroes back and canceling their plans of attack. This situation looked to be turning quickly into a stalemate of sorts

But that was soon going to all change.

Both Super Man and Super Girl as well as Lois and the others in the area who avoided being hit or injured were surprised when a glowing figure appeared next to the force that was around Deadshot and before the man could react, the light faded and revealed a figure in green and black armor, as well as helmet with a golden visor. They had no idea just how he got there but before they could speak, Deadshot spotted the new arrival and so did the others who were with him as the assassin spoke out.

"Who the hell are you?"

The new arrival replied.

"The one who's going to put you all down unless you and your cohorts surrender."

"Oh really? How about this for an answer to you're previous request tin man, get lost. Get rid of him!"

Deadshot and the others attacked and a storm of bullets came, but to their surprise, the bullets were not even making a dent as a glowing golden light surrounded the Spartan and deflected their attacks. John decided that play time was over as he charged in and quickly closed the gap and grabbed Deadshot and ripped the weapon out of his hand launched a punch that sent the man flying. The terrorists fired their weapons but the Spartan quickly took out his MA5C and quickly fired a number of rounds at them. These rounds tore through their body armor with ease as these rounds were FMJ rounds that relied on a tungsten carbide casing for maximum penetration.

And since the basic terrorists were human John relied on his knowledge of human anatomy to hit them in areas to cause the most pain but without killing them either. As soon as he was done, the Spartan was attacked by Deadshot and Plastique as the two tossed a number of attacks at him with the marksman shooting with his bullets and the demolitions expert using her explosives. Super-man and Super Girl were trying to help but Livewire was busy keeping them busy as she used her electrical powers to fire blasts at them and she usually took potshots as the other civilians who were there, forcing them to take the hits and get even more injured.

Just because she was not using Kryptonite in her attacks didn't mean that Livewire's attacks were not effective on the two, and with her use of civilians to force them to take her hits. Livewire was more than willing to go with the idea to keep the two from helping the new arrival. Besides this was her chance to not only take out Super-man but her cousin and that was something she had wanted to do ever since she was transformed into who she was now.

Naturally as she hit Super-man with another bolt of lightning, she taunted the Kryptonian.

"Let's see you dodge from me this time you blue and red wearing freak of nature!"

Super Girl then replied in an annoyed tone as well as a taunting one.

"Tough talk for a girl who acts like a freak herself."

Livewire growled and replied.

"Just for that, I am going to light you up like a Christmas tree blondie!"

However, she was forced to stop when she spotted Deadshot flying backwards with several wounds on his body and out cold like a light and he was soon followed by none other than Plastique. She turned and directed her attention to the Spartan and she quickly fired a bolt at him, he quickly dodged it and was now aiming his weapon at her.

"Surrender right now."

Livewire grinned and replied with a sneering tone.

"You've got some guts, but let's see if you have what it takes to take me out when I do this!"

Livewire than turned herself to electricity and charged as John as he moved away, she reformed and fired a bolt of her powers on him and hit his MA5C Assault Rifle. Livewire then moved in for the kill and unleashed a massive blast of lightning aimed right at the Spartan.

"Time to fry big boy!"

…

Livewire smiled as she amped up the voltage and it surrounded the Spartan easily, but her smile faded as the Spartan seemed utterly unaffected and soon rushed towards her and before she could react, he grabbed by the neck and gripped tightly while lifting her up as he spoke.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but my Armor is insulated and has been specially hardened for battles like this…and now it's my turn to take the fight to you."

Livewire then felt her power being drained and she realized that the armored man was actually draining her of power…just like Parasite did when she teamed up with him, unaware that he had darker plans for her and that was to drain her dry and use her like some sort of a 'food/fuel source'.

"N-N-No!"

"I read your files Leslie…I know that you are weak to water and also you need to recharge yourself periodically to maintain your strength. That is why I conditioned the suit to drain you of power the very second I grabbed you."

And sure enough, no matter how many times Livewire tried to unleash a storm of lightning on the Spartan it proved to be useless as the MJOLNIR absorbed it without fail, in reality, John had rerouted some of the power from the plasma/fusion reactor that powered the MJOLNIR and had the shields function in the same manner as the Power Drain device used by Jiralhanae but had been altered to take in electrical energy from living beings.

When he was getting prepped, Cortana informed him of Livewire being in the attacking force and had made the alterations to the MJOLNIR to both insulate it from her powers and drain her powers at the very same time. He made sure that he drained only enough of her powers to render her unable to move, fight or escape, not enough to outright kill her. He was not there to kill just yet and neutralizing the targets were a much better choice if that was the case.

And the effects were not long before Livewire finally was out cold like a light, he quickly placed her down and checked his weapon, he saw that it was in good condition and was still going to be usable in battle. He checked also the ammunition and thankfully they had not gone off in the clip and exploded which could have caused internal damage to the weapon itself. Once that was done, he moved out to find some high grade insulated wire to tie up Livewire as well as use some thicker and stronger rope to tie up Deadshot and Plastique so the could be dealt with by the Authorities.

With that sorted, he placed his weapon on his back and made his way to both Super-man and Super Girl to assess just how badly they were injured and if medical treatment was a viable option. He knew that they could heal better than any human could due to their respective alien physiology. Either way, he was going to help them since they were technically the good guys and as such, he had to help them as well.

…

Super-girl who was also known by her Earth identity as Kara Kent still felt the sting of Livewire's electrical attacks, and while she had no cuts just yet, she was still feeling the burn as well as the pain of the attacks on her nervous system, coupled with the attacks of Deadshot, Plastique, and their followers. As her energy came back and she began to heal, she was surprised to see the Spartan leaning over her, she was further surprised as the giant of an armored being helped her up with ease.

"You all right Super-Girl?"

Kara listened to the voice, definitely human from the way he spoke, it was calm, focused, and determined. She managed to get her voice back and spoke.

"I am fine, I just need a few minutes to heal up."

John gave a slight nod and helped her to a nearby chair and turned to check on Super-man, but the older Kryptonian was full up though a bit strained from the battle and the injuries he had suffered from Livewire's attacks as well as the attacks from both Deadshot and Plastique. He turned and faced the Spartan and spoke to him.

"Thanks for your help…if that had continued then things would have become a lot worse."

John shrugged and replied.

"No need for thanks, I came to do my job."

Clark smiled a bit and soon Lois as well as several camera-men were there, though the camera-men had to find new tapes for their devices or get new ones into their hands after Livewire caused some damage to their gear. Lois herself looked at Super-man and was happy that he was all right and recovering and she then decided to turn her attention to the Spartan.

She had never seen him before and there was no mention of New York having it's own Super-hero of all things.

The same could be said for Super-man as he tried to figure out what he could be, he was about to use his x-ray vision but before that could happen, the Spartan turned around and was suddenly covered in light, Clark guessed that he was about to leave the same way he came in and spoke.

"Wait, who are you?"

John then replied as the light covered his full form.

"Spartan-117 and before you ask, yes I am in the military but that is classified information which will remain classified."

In that moment, the Spartan vanished from sight as he was teleported back to the Dawn, this left the reporters and the two Super heroes from Metropolis with questions who the Spartan was.

…

In the Dawn…

As soon as John appeared, Cortana made her appearance from one of the holo-displays and gave him a smile that had more than enough humor in them.

"You've been busy, I can bet that by tomorrow you in the MJOLNIR are going to be plastered on every news paper or magazine that has the space for it."

John shook his head and took of the helmet and replied.

"That was never my intention, I feel like a bloody rookie for allowing myself to stay that long, I should have just checked out the second I got."

Cortana chuckled and replied.

"Maybe that was true, that would have added to the whole mystery thing on where you came from and why, but at least you didn't give them a lot to work with. Come on, let's go down back to Earth and back to base, you're customers are going to be rather curious as to where you disappeared to after all."

John nodded and as soon as the Dawn was out of the area where it could be detected by orbital satellites despite the fact that it blended with the blackness of space as well as the radiation that came out from the void of space itself. Once they were out of earth bound sensor range, the Spartan was soon teleported back to Earth, namely in his warehouse base/workshop/and home.

He stowed away the armor and locked it down in the special storage chamber which was also a mobile repair and assembly unit that would help maintain and repair his MJOLNIR in the field when going to the ship was not the best of ideas and being in the field was a better choice. The Spartan then felt his body and found that he was all right and got dressed.

The moment he checked on the TV, he saw the news reports on the attack on the World Assembly and naturally there was the footage of Super-man and Super Girl. The reporter also spoke to the audience who he had no doubt was watching as he was.

"The battle between Super-man, Super-Girl and the group of terrorists led by the rogue demolitions expert Plastique, assassin Deadshot, and the former Shock Jockey now recognized as Livewire had been in a stalemate due to the fact that the attackers used several hostages to prevent the heroes to stop them. However, the arrival of a new and apparently unknown hero changed the course of the battle."

"As soon as the terrorists and their leaders were apprehended, the new hero only stated that his name was Spartan-117 and he was part of the military. As far as we know, sources in the US Military have denied that the Spartan is a new agent of theirs. Other military groups have expressed the same sentiment. But for all the discussions, it seems that New York is going to be a lot more interesting from now on."

"Could it be that New York now has it's own super hero?"

Before it could go any further, John turned it off and he was not keen on listening to it anymore as he could easily imagine CPO Franklin Mendez giving him a serious talking to. He was not here to be like Super-man or anyone else, but now that he had his face plastered on the news, things were going to get a lot louder this time around.

One thing was certain, the rest of the world was going to want to find out everything they could about him and that was more than enough to annoy the Spartan. But that was not going to stop him for now, until they find a possible way of coming back to their own reality, he was going to have to face the music and do what he possibly can.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

This story is done, but not going to be updated unless I deem it time, I figured since this has been in my coconut for a while now, I might as well get rid of it in a productive manner. Now for all the readers out there, I will point out that like my Fallout story, this is not going to be updated at a rate like the others as I have to state that I will be going dark from the internet for at least six months at the month of February and on the fifteenth day of this very same month.

Why am I going dark and not be around for six months?

Simply put, I will be moving out of my home and staying in a temporary dwelling for six months until my home is rebuilt. And as such, having the internet is not going to happen for me and so I will be gone for that long. It was something that had to happen as my home needs to be rebuilt as it is already going on in the years.

Already my home is being torn down bit by bit, the furniture is being ferried away as I am writing this right now, clothing, books, pictures, and all other personal stuff is being stored and placed away even as I sit in front of my PC. Things my family and I don't need or no longer can use is being given away to others right now, and soon, my home will be long gone and I will no longer be around for a long time in order to update.

I dislike leaving my home, even more so not being able to use the net for half a year, but it's the only option that I have for myself. This home of mine is old and it's been a made decision at least a year and a half ago, so even if I voice my displeasure on the matter, my home is still going to be taken down. I can only hope that when I do go back home, that I will be able to get myself back on track in all aspects of my writing.

So if you all begin to notice that I don't update for six months, at least you know now why that is the case.

Yes, I will be gone for six months, and no I am not pulling your leg so don't ask me if I am doing this just to make things interesting for all of you readers of mine.

Now I won't be gone entirely, I will make attempts to keep myself in the loop when I go to a place where the internet is available…and that in itself is not going to be easy since my temporary place of residence happens to be a fair distance from any internet café and computer shop. This means that I will make sure to keep up with the latest information and I will use the available time given to me to work and update my stories.

Of course I will be graduating and taking up an exam for a teaching license as I have plans to start working to earn money, so that might also affect my ability to write any new chapters or make new stories.

Until I leave my home on the fifteenth however, I will update as best I can so hopefully I do not leave all of you hanging since that is too cruel for anyone to deal with. Keep sending me the information and suggestions you can, so I will be able to read them and also make sure that I will have material to work with while I am gone.

…

Now with all of that important stuff that cannot possibly wait out of the way, on with the story's outline so we're clear on exactly how this will play out if and when I dedicate myself to this full time and that is still going to be up for debate. This will be in the period when the Justice League will be formed and as such, the Spartan will arrive and settle in before meeting the League themselves. As to what is the Spartan's role is, I will leave that up to you.

…

What I can say is that he will not always be with the League and will be part time, as you no doubt read he is residing in New York and close enough to the World Assembly Building. Now this will tell you that John will be considering joining up with the World Assembly as an agent to make his cover story a lot more solid and give him a legitimate cover to work with if and when he has to go out and do some important tasks.

John will also help the NYPD and other agencies there to deal with the regular crimes as well as more exotic situations so it will actually help him legitimize his stance as a hero instead of being some unknown factor that joins the league right off the bat once it's formed. And this being the DC version of New York, there will naturally be a number of differences from the Marvel version and that is that, it's more to the real world New York as well to be fair with the city itself.

The Imperium have not appeared just yet so this is more of a transition period where John gets used to being in this reality and sets up a base of operations. Now since he still has the Dawn as it has yet to be built and the Watch Tower is not yet active the rebuilt Frigate is currently hidden away near Io and is not to be used in combat unless needed. It will play a part soon enough in the coming story all the way to the Thangarian invasion.

If it will remain in the period when the expanded Justice League is formed, that is up to me.

As for the upgraded MJOLNIR, it might sound like overkill as it is similar to John's MJOLNIR Mark X from my Mass Effect Halo crossover, and in truth it is, though not too much as some features from the original Mark X are not present in this DC version. Keep in mind that John will be dealing with a whole batch of enemies that are either Meta-human, Bang-Babies, Aliens, Androids and more besides. This why he gains an upgraded arsenal as well as an upgraded MJOLNIR just in time as well, and it will be invaluable in going toe to toe with some of the opposition he will be facing.

This is not limited to just the MJOLNIR as well as he will have an upgraded arsenal to deal with the many threats that will be in this reality as well. This naturally will include the Gauss Weapons, Lasers, Plasma, Light Based Weapons, and a new addition, which is Sonic weaponry which can stun or outright kill if needed. He and Cortana will need all the firepower they can get considering just who they will be fighting in the long run after all.

And naturally, John also gets some genetic enhancements to supplement the ones he has from the Spartan II Program to help him. They are nothing major and do not make him beyond super human. Just merely some upgrades in the biological sense and not too heavy to make him immortal, just enough to make sure that he can be a stronger opponent if caught off guard without the MJOLNIR and relying now only on his skills, experience and training.

I know that there are a lot of characters in DCAU who can really be a challenge, and this includes the Gods, but there is always a way to beat them and despite their powers, John is no quitter and he can accomplish a lot with the right tools, plans, adaptation and improvisation to boot so even if he does face powerful foes, he is not going to be in a bad way for very long. This will naturally include foes like magic users and demons.

…

Now on the topic of pairings, it seems that Wonder Woman and Super Girl are going neck and neck on this story though Super Girl seems to be in the lead so far and that is something that I am rather surprised to see. I still will be figuring out who would make a viable choice.

For those who are the supporters of Batman X Wonder Woman pairings, keep in mind that even if there is indeed a thing going on between Bruce and Diana, the fact that Bruce/Batman is not doing anything about it is not exactly encouraging. And no doubt is not something that Diana/Wonder Woman appreciates. Besides, this is a fiction story so I have some leeway in making this story.

And you have to admit, there is something interesting about the idea of an Amazon getting attracted to a Spartan that has a very appealing ring to it. Both are warriors in spirit and despite the fact that John is not entirely sold on Diana being who she is…he's not that closed minded.

As for Super Girl, it might be interesting to see the results of that, keep in mind by technical definition, she is an alien despite her and Clark being human looking in face and form. This should be an interesting meeting to say the very least. And just how would Clark deal with the fact that if it does happen, that his cousin is now getting attracted to a career super soldier?

This should be good.

But like it was mentioned before, they are not the only women that are not paired yet with the men of the League so they are fair game until then. I might include Donna Troy who we all know happens to be Diana's sister, but that will be a while as well so don't expect her to miraculously appear just like that. And there are other DCAU female characters we can add to the mix, who they are is still up for me to decide to reveal them if and when the time is right.

And if you ask for lemons, then let me worry about those since making a lemon is something that I can do well enough and I will make sure that my work will naturally be up to the usual standards that I am known to be able to do with all the other lemons that I have already made.

Of course I will try to find ways to make it work out once I get myself into the story itself, and after making some updates on my still ongoing projects that are yet to be fully finished.

…

Bye and hope that this is going to be enough for the duration until I come back and begin writing again!


	2. Chapter 2

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own DC or Bungie, if I did…I wouldn't be doing this now would I?

Chapter 1

Settling in…

( ): Thoughts

…

In New York…

"Extra! Extra Read All About It! New Super Hero in New York!"

The news paper boys were shouting out in their usual tones in order to deal with New York's ever present hustle and bustle. They clutched their news papers in hand and were moving about, trying to sell their newspapers to all the people that were willing to not just hear them, but approach them.

All over the news, rumors of the Spartan who had aided Super-Man and Super Girl were spreading like wild fire. Pictures, reports, and articles were all over the place. People were already curious as to what to make of the armored person who had appeared only a few days ago, it was fairly obvious that many wanted to know all they could about this man. I was not just limited to newspapers as radio and TV programs that were naturally tied to the news networks were playing their programs to find out all they could about the man in question.

One man managed to get a newspaper and began to read the article and his sigh was lost in the traffic and cries of the people.

To most people, he was John Desmond Mendez, owner of a custom vehicle repair and construction shop on the outskirts of the city, and was a fairly good looking man who had no run ins with the law to speak of. But they were not aware that the name, at least the last two names were fake. John-117 had never recalled his last name ever since becoming part of the Spartan II Program of the UNSC and as such, he was not very keen on letting people know that the man that they were talking about happened to be him.

He scanned the newspapers and saw that there were a number of articles written about him in his MJOLNIR, and already the theories were making him shake his head. He took out some of his money and bought the newspaper as well as some other things he would need to read up on. But not before encountering a Television program that was currently running a video clip of his battle with the three who he knew were currently on lockdown with Livewire being the one who had more security due to her Meta-human status and both Deadshot as well as Plastique being kept under full lock down due to their specialties.

As for what he was seeing right now, John was not the least bit amused as the hosts were making wild stories about him. He sighed a bit and left to get back to his shop/base, there was plenty of things that he had to take care of and now was not the time for him to waste his time looking at the news.

He headed back to his Warthog and soon was on his way, once he was back in the base, he decided to get to work on a brand new order as he looked at the computer to see who had registered for an appointment. Cortana had managed to make a website easily that would highlight what his business does and naturally he was going to use his money to pay for the bandwidth so as to minimize his use of the Dawn's systems.

Of course, she made sure to check on the customers in the database of the government as well as police agencies, both local and in Interpol as well as the FBI to make sure that the customers were legitimate and not tied to any criminal group. He looked the files over and replied to two new orders who Cortana told him were all legitimate people.

He did not have to wait long as his first customer, who was a young man asking for a retrofitting of his new car and was able to scrounge enough money from part time work for the fees. The car was second hand and was something that John could repair and fit, once he ran through the request he pointed out the ones he would do and the ones he could not due to expenses. The two haggled a bit but the Spartan would not budge, this was not his area of expertise, but to him, quality outdid a lot of things.

After a while, he took the amount and began to work on the car, quickly depositing the money he had into a bank account he had made a week before in a trust worthy bank that Cortana picked since the owners were not the corrupt and greedy kind.

As he worked on the car, he took up an uplink communicator and spoke to Cortana.

"What's going on at the moment Cortana?"

The A.I replied to his question with a slight sigh.

"Not much at the moment, there's been no sign of activity enough to warrant you going out in full gear John, a few car accidents as well as construction mishaps solved by Super-man in Metropolis so far, Bat-man catching the Joker once again, I have to admit that at least in this Earth, there is not much to do, it's a good thing I got upgraded or else this would be boring to hell."

John chuckled and had to agree as he knew that even seven seconds for a Smart A.I was the equivalent of being strapped in a chair and forced to watch the re-runs of the worst show you had ever seen for all eternity. Not that he knew from first hand experience since TV shows were not to his liking either but he got the idea behind it.

"I'm sure you can figure something to pass the time."

"Haha, anyway, you are right, I've been compiling a lot of files pertaining to other well known heroes in this Earth, seems Dakota's got it's own hero pair, a young African American with powers focusing on Electro-magnetism, and electricity, aptly calling himself Static, he has a companion named Gear who seems to be a great tech master, flying roller skates and a robotic back pack to boot."

"Hmmm, and how old are they?"

"Judging from the biometric scans I ran, they would have to be around their mid teens, they seem to be a good sort as they were actually 'born' as it were from an event called the Big Bang. Not the Big Bang you know, but some sort of chemical explosion that unleashed a large amount of gas that turned them into what they are right now."

John then had a question.

"How did you find out about them anyway? Or for that matter, how did you find out about Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne being you know who?"

Cortana grinned and replied.

"A girl's got to have secrets."

John frowned and replied.

"Cortana, you know better than to hide secrets from me."

The A.I laughed a bit more and was 'warm'; in her laugh.

"I know you don't like being kept in the dark John, I was just joking about that. I ran into a computer database owned by the Government in Langley Virginia and there seems to be some sort of government supported black ops group that keeps an eye on all known costumed heroes. They had Clark Kent on file and also Bruce Wayne as well as their real identities as well as the files on many heroes including Static and Gear. Makes sense the Government would watch them though."

John had to agree, with these kinds of people and aliens residing in Earth, It was to be expected that the Government would want to keep an eye on them. However he knew from personal experience that the government would want to run tests or even use such people with powers like Super-man, Static, Gear and who knew who else and even try to use them for other means. After all, he was part of a government sponsored black ops program himself and he knew how he had turned out when the war with the Covenant began.

"I take it this black ops group or possibly groups have other plans involving these kinds of beings than just keeping tabs on them?"

"Yet, it seems that there was mention of a project called Project Firestorm where one Claire Selton was discovered to be able to manipulate fire with her mind, she was supposed to be taken to some Paranormal Studies Center in Metropolis but got whisked away from there by the Government. They trained her for their own purposes and named her Volcana for obvious reasons but when she went rogue, they pulled the plug."

"Super-man encountered her at that point and supposedly helped her deal with the past and is currently exiled as a willing prisoner on some island with all the basic amenities provided by the man in question. So far, she has not been seen for some time and there have been no reports of anyone fitting her description. "

John had to give Super-man credit where credit was due, but he decided to place that aside as he went to work, it was here than Cortana spoke once more.

"You know that a good number of TV shows are playing you on the air right now?"

John groaned and replied.

"Don't remind me, now I'll see you later, I've got to get to work on those orders and hope that those parts can be found soon enough."

"Got it John, but just so you know, there's going to be a ton of people asking who you are, and I have a feeling that not all of them are going to have altruistic or trusting reasons to be looking for you at some point while you are here."

John knew the truth in that statement and decided to get back to work, as he did his testing on what he could repair and replace, he decided to get to work in ordering the parts he needed via the computer. The money that Cortana had taken before to serve as a setup fund was already proving to be useful though he only used it on serious orders for the cars of his clients. It was going to take him a week or so by his estimation to get this car to the specs needed by his young client, but at least this kept him busy and when he was done, he could relax and just enjoy the solitude.

…

Cortana's assessment on the matter was obvious as despite his actions already being a few days old, every news paper and media circuit in the Eastern Coast of the United States were still talking about him. There were those who commended that someone was now helping keep new York safe, while others were not as supportive and others were downright hostile. Unknown to the two later groups, Cortana was already marking them down, not to destroy or harm them as they did have the right to say what they wanted with America being a free country and all. But she did it to see if they got their facts straight before bashing her Spartan, if they did, then she was merely going to observe.

But if they were distorting the facts…well then, they were asking for it.

She however knew that the government would be placing John on their watch list as they did the other Metahumans and no doubt they were going to be interested in getting their hands on him and the equipment he had, which was why she had been implanting surveillance bugs and worms into their systems and routinely checking their progress on trying to track John down. She made sure to do it in a subtle and unique way as par her design as technology specialist and Infiltrator and as far as she knew, she was doing very well.

Nevertheless, her experiences with Mendicant Bias and with the Gravemind had helped her develop new strategies and tactics to make sure that she was not going to be easily caught even by the most determined firewall or detected which was why she also resorted to using logic bombs and mass quantum calculations and while there were computers that were very unique and also of excellent design that she found in her search, she was able to take them apart in their blueprints and figure out weak points and loopholes in both hardware and software.

She had no doubt that the Government and those media agencies were not the only ones who would want to keep a sharp eye for John. She knew that some of the more cautious heroes of this world would want to know more of him to see if he was a legitimate hero or some sort of villain who was playing at hero and would become a danger…or something around those lines.

Two such heroes were doing that already.

…

In Wayne Manor…

Alfred sighed as he readied some tea and sandwiches for Bruce and Clark, this was by far the only time he had ever seen the two in costume and not in the Bat-cave, had it not been for the fact that no one apart from him and the two men were in the Manor, people would have started talking. Super-man had flown all the way from Metropolis to speak to Bat-man who himself had just arrived and was still in the suit when Super-man showed up.

The former British SAS agent and long time friend, servant, confidante, and ally of Bruce Wayne decided that he would find out eventually just what the reason was in due to time and remembered that he had to serve some food to his guest and his Master as well.

"I took the liberty of readying you and Mr. Kent some tea and sandwiches Master Bruce."

Bruce turned and gave a slight smile to his family's long time manservant, and his surrogate father figure ever since the death of his parents, and one of the few he trusted with his identity.

"Thank you Alfred."

"May I inquire as to what is the nature of the matter that requires you and Mr. Kent to be in costume here in the Manor?"

Bruce replied by playing the tape that revealed the battle in the World Assembly building, this surprised Alfred a bit as he spoke.

"My word…who is that?"

Super-man replied.

"That man is the reason we are in costume Alfred."

Super-Man looked at the video clips of the battle once more, and tried to figure out just what to make of the man who had somehow teleported into the room to take out Plastique, Deadshot, and Livewire. He had seen plenty of technology that nodded to the use of teleportation, and had even used them himself on more than one instance. This technology however had none of the characteristics that he knew of.

Batman thought on a different level as he watched the Spartan in action, he disliked the idea of seeing someone actually using guns in battle. Having witnessed his parents' murder by an armed gun-man at a very young age, Bruce had developed an aversion and dislike for fire-arms, which was why throughout his career as Batman he had never held a gun in his life, and vowed to never do so for as long as he lived.

They did eat the food and while Clark and Bruce did enjoy Alfred's work, they did not take their eyes away from the battle before too long.

As he stopped the video, he and Super-man and even Alfred looked at the images carefully, they took in the details and Alfred then spoke seriously.

"This man is something else entirely, I've never seen armor like that before."

Bat-man agreed and turned to Super-man..

"Do you think the armor's one of Luthor's creations?"

Clark Kent/Super-Man shook his head.

"I don't think so, the design certainly does not match and most of the Armor designs I had seen Luthor make don't have this design form, and they certainly don't have energy shielding. I've seen shield technology before, but never one that was melded into Armor and made human sized. Green Lantern can make shields but he uses his ring to do it, and I don't see anything on the armor that would pass for an emitter so it has be around the armor itself. It would be a serious system that could require a tremendous power source, something like a fusion reactor if this was human made. But I've never heard of any reactor small enough to be fitted into a suit of armor being developed on any scale."

"What about Steel's Armor and the one used by Corey Miles?"

Clark shook his head.

"Both of them never had shield systems nor were they requiring portable fire-arms at all. Miles's suit had built in weapons while Steel had the same thing though he did use the Hammer more often than most. This tells me that this suit is not from Lex Corp since it's design certainly does not add up to what I've seen Lex's Company design specs. At leas t the ones that he had currently stored in his database thus far. The fact that it was actually able to drain Livewire without killing her tells me it is more than just a defensive system."

Bat-man had to agree and he also replied as he took a remote and zoomed in on the weapons that the Spartan had on hand. He looked at the Assault Rifle and spoke as well.

"The gun he had does not match any known weapons profile I had on the database, and there's more to it as well."

The two followed Bruce into the Bat-cave as the billionaire moved to the massive computer system that he used on the place that served as his second home of sorts. As he sat down, he quickly began to access the data he had collected from the scene. He had skimmed the medical reports on the terrorists as well as Deadshot and Plastique and also managed to get the data on the caliber of the bullets that were used.

"The man of whatever he was underneath that armor was using 7.62mm rounds, which in itself is odd since such ammunition is only used in machine guns, Battle Rifles, or Sniper Rifles as well as for vehicles, ships, and aircraft weaponry, never for Assault Rifles due to the recoil issues not to mention weight. This gun must have some sort of advanced recoil system to be able to fire that many rounds without serious kick back."

Clark had to agree as he looked at the data and when the wounds on the terrorists were shown he was able to spot something in the battle in more detail.

"He was able to shoot them in areas that would severely weaken them but not kill them outright. He knows just where in the human body to shoot to get the results in taking them out without killing them."

Bat-man looked at the wounds and agreed, having studied the sciences for years, Bruce already had a very good idea on how the body functioned as well as where to hit to have the most effect in stopping an enemy cold. This guy was very well trained to do that with firearms without killing his targets and no doubt would have done that since Super-man was around.

"He must have done it to avoid getting on your bad side then."

"Maybe, but he was certainly calm about it, I tried to see his face but he kept himself away from my x-ray vision and when he did look at me, it was only partial so I have no idea who he was. This guy seems to know that I do have x-ray vision so he must have a file on me and no doubt Super-Girl as well."

Bat-man thought it over and decided to run some more tests to see just what else he could be able to gather about this new arrival as he had to be sure that this man was not a danger in disguise to the people. He had known about Corey Miles already so he knew that there was some considerable dangers to something like that. But still he had admit that the Armor used by this Spartan was impressive be any means and was something that was very interesting to his mind as such an armor system armed with a built in energy shield was something that would arouse the scientist in him.

He then spoke to Super-man about a previous battle that he had with someone equipped with such a system.

"Do you think that he might become like Corey Miles?"

"Maybe…but we'll have to wait and see for ourselves if that is a major possibility and we can't say for certain that he will turn into one just like that Bruce."

Bruce nodded and replied.

"Let's hope so then, because I have a feeling that what we've seen so far from him is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg."

The two heroes were not the only ones looking at the videos however…

…

Lexcorp…

Lex Luthor watched the videos carefully of the battle that had happened in the World Assembly, normally the CEO and long time foe of Super-man would not bother with such things as he focused his time on defeating Super-man. But this new hero if this person or if it was even a living person, was a bit interesting. His equipment was unknown and so was his Power Armor if it was even one.

Lex had run through the files of his company when it concerned Powered Exoskeleton Armor designs and he even went far as to locate any of his scientists who might have developed anything similar to the Energy Shields he had seen on this man. This technology was something that the genius criminal and business owner wanted to take a look at and see if it could be useful for not just expanding his business empire, but also to give him a few more options on trying to finally end the one person he had been obsessed about destroying, or rather alien.

Super-man.

Luthor had wanted to have Super-man to his cause long ago when Super-man made his appearance in what he saw was HIS Metropolis, but gave that up a long time ago and now only wanted him gone and dusted, he knew that using Kryptonite was his best option but he was already thinking of other ways to do some damage to Man of Steel. After the invasion by Apokolips' leader Darkseid with Super-man being brainwashed to lead that said attack, Lex knew that while Super-man had recovered, and rebuilt the trust the people had towards him, all it took would be a series of events to bring his foe to the ground once more.

Most people who did not have powers that could prove to be a deadly weapon against Super-man would have steered clear of him and not bothered going after him. But Lex was anything but ordinary as he studied the videos of the Spartan once more.

Mercy Graves came into the room and was now at his side and he spoke.

"You have all the files I asked for Mercy?"

"Yes Lex, it took some time to get them but they are all here."

Lex turned off the video and looked at the files very carefully, he was trying his best to find out just what he could in order to make a good move on dealing with this new person. Mercy then took this moment to ask him something important.

"Lex, are you sure that going after this…Spartan is a wise idea?"

Lex stopped and turned to face Mercy and replied.

"Why do you ask me such a question?"

"Granted he's got powerful technology, but if he is the same league as Super-man…I doubt that he's going to bow down to anyone. And he's based in New York so we don't really have much to gain by going after him."

"Maybe…but I feel that there can be a lot gained from him. This technology of his can be useful Mercy, and I have a feeling that with some…modifications I can make them better."

Mercy knew that talking with Lex when he was like this was not a good place to be as he would react violently either with words, action, or both if he perceived someone was questioning his plans and trying to find something wrong in his plans. She had seen the files and had to admit that there was something about this Spartan as well, the way he shot those terrorist told her that if he was being dead serious about stopping them, he would have just killed them outright.

"I have a feeling about him."

"And what would that be Mercy?"

"He's not the same as Super-man."

Lex raised an eyebrow at that and spoke.

"What exactly do you mean he's not the same as Super-man?"

"Lex, he uses guns and he's not afraid to use them, if he was being serious in taking them out, he would have just killed them outright. He shot them in areas where they would be incapacitated but not killed outright. Those shots were clean, efficient, and straight forward. Soldiers do that Lex, this is no rookie and while I can't really be sure, the way the battle played out tells me that this guy will not hesitate to use lethal force if he has to. And there's no telling what else he has in his arsenal."

"All the more reason for us to find out all we can Mercy, this could be useful in time to me and to Lexcorp, in the mean time, dig up whatever you can find on him. I don't care what it takes."

…

The government or rather another group funded by the Government was also looking at the footage of the battle in the World Assembly and already were trying to figure out as much as they could about this new arrival on the scene. Once they were done looking and reviewing the footage of the battle in the World Assembly, one of them spoke in a military manner befitting the fact that he was wearing a general's uniform.

"This new one's a complete mystery, we've poured though every major file we have in the database on any kind of Powered Battle Suit but none of them match."

"Nothing? Could it be an alien model?"

"No, the fact that he uses human made ammunition in his weapons tells me that this is no alien we're dealing with here. The fact that he was able to take down those terrorists without killing them outright means that he is well trained and highly disciplined, possibly ex-military. We're not dealing with a hotshot Metahuman here."

"But we don't have any files on him, besides, if we are talking about a Metahuman here, shouldn't there be anything that we know most Metahumans could do."

"He could be a new one, they crop up every now and then with new powers."

"And use guns that have conventional ammunition as the basis for fighting? I don't think so."

"He might match the profile of Metahuman Subject 0012 from Dakota, he may not have the powers of his counter-part Subject 0011 but his changed intelligence had allowed him to create a significant number of technologies from scratch."

Another person hidden in the shadows spoke, this time with a female voice.

"I don't quite agree, Subject 0012 is intelligent, no doubt there, but to develop energy shields that are human sized is not exactly easy. The complexity of providing a power supply to keep such a system running as well as the suit itself is not going to be simple and it would take months or even years even by Metahuman standards to develop something like that from scratch."

The group looked at the files, these not just included pictures and some analyst field reports, but also the data they got from the forensics on the bullets. They looked it over carefully and then began to talk about the weapons and technology that went into them thus far. One thing was certain, the government was taking a very solid interest on this new arrival and also wishing to see just what else this person was able to do.

…

It was not going to be an easy time for John as apart from juggling his civilian cover and doing his job while also dealing with keeping his identity a secret. Keeping his Spartan abilities in check was not too much of an issue due to his training and experiences, but it was not easy by any means as many people would be curious on his abilities and his looks. More than once people would stare at him and John did not like being the center of attention all that much, the good news for him at any rate was that this only happened when he was outside.

He had finished his workload for the week and had taken the next job with his previous customer very pleased after taking his new car for several test spins and paying the Spartan a bit extra for the quality of the ride. His next job was dealing with a family that wanted a new vehicle for their trips around the country. It was not too tall an order for him and they already had the RV on hand, they just needed some new additions as well as a better system for the vehicle itself.

Of course he had to deal with other matters every now and then that required him to don the MJOLNIR and help keep the city out of trouble. New York might not have looked it, but there had been a few instances that things had gotten out hand and would have gotten worse when he had not arrived.

One such situation was involving Inter-gang itself, as the group had apparently decided to move it's operations overseas and not limit themselves to Metropolis and were thinking large. Apparently even after being beaten when Darkseid was forced to fight Superman after the Man of Steel had beaten the alien warlord by both cousins, they were recovering and back to cause trouble.

They had attacked a large gold bullion convoy that was passing through New York and had caused a lot of damage in the process. The rising damage and reports of civilian and police casualties had forced John to don the MJOLNIR as his duty to defend Humanity came to the fore and trusting him into the spotlight once more as the media spotted him. This time he was armed with a Battle Rifle and an M90A Shotgun to deal with Intergang.

They were well armed despite not using any of the leftover weapons given to them by Darkseid when he had controlled them in the past and had already wounded a number of police officers before John came in to deal with them quickly and effectively. He had already seen the injuries as well as several dead or dying officers and decided that playing nice was out of the question. These people were threats and had to be put out of commission before more innocent people were harmed or killed though he had to make sure that they were not going to die from his attacks, they were threats to the core but John could not kill them either, not without having himself branded as a threat to the eyes of the heroes who called this world home.

Intergang found this out the hard way as many of them were quickly dropped by the Spartan with precise shots though he was not playing for keeps as these had been near fatal shots which left their friends bleeding in the street and crying out in pain and shock at being shot with live ammunition. The ones that did get away with their lives were the ones who finally surrendered to the police and the Spartan. After he had terminated a number of them, they were terrified of the Spartan as they had usually not seen anyone willingly try to kill them before.

As soon as the group was locked down and sent to prison, John moved to give medical treatment to the wounded and those who could be saved. He looked at those who died and made sure to help take them to a proper funeral and he made his way away from the media, but not before leaving a message to one reporter who asked him why unlike many heroes here in Earth, he would not hesitate to use lethal force though he altered his voice through the MJOLNIR.

"It was a choice I made, they already took several lives without remorse and left several families without their loved ones. Allowing them to continue like this would have resulted in more people dying so I made the choice no one wants to make."

"But won't that make you no different than a killer even if you don't kill them directly?"

"Maybe to some, but I made the decision to do that, if I wanted to use lethal and fatal force, it will only be when they meet the criteria for the need to take them out permanently."

…

His actions in nearly killing members of Intergang despite many of them living through the experience had sparked some level of shock in the super hero community, even more so for Super-man who was not very happy to see the Spartan using such tactics, and the same could be said for Bat-man, even though the two did know that he had shot them in areas of the human body that took them down but not killed them outright.

This was what prompted Super-man to go back as Clark Kent to New York as was Perry's request to follow upon the latest sighting of the Master Chief. Cortana was able to see that and decided that a meeting between John in MJOLNIR and Super-man was in order. Which was why when Clark arrived and so did Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen back into New York, she sent their hotel a fax message, and on it was a location outside of most of the area around New York and well away from anyone who could be around, this was going to be a meeting between Super-man and the Master Chief, and only Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were allowed.

…

In the meeting spot…

Lois Lane and Jimmy waited patiently…as far as patience went for them as Super-man finally arrived in his usual fashion, he looked at the pair and hoped that this was not going to be a bad thing. The meeting place was indeed in a once bustling train station well away from the city Jimmy walked up to him and spoke.

"You think this Spartan is going to show up Super-man?"

"He might, the only question is when."

"Why do you think he wanted this meeting?"

Lois then replied to that question.

"He probably had a good reason, which might have something to do with what he did with Intergang only a few days ago. He probably asked for a meeting with Super-man to give a more thorough reason as to why he uses near lethal force."

Super-man thought about it and concluded that it was a possibility to begin with, but he knew that he was going to get his answer when a flash of light appeared and soon the figure of the Spartan appeared before the three, Super-man quickly noted that the Spartan was armed and tensed up as he was not sure what was going to happen. The same could be said for Lois and Jimmy as the two were looking at him.

John could see that and spoke in a calm tone with an altered voice.

"I'm not here to fight you three, I did say that I was going to meet you three after all and I meant it."

To prove it, John took out his MA5C, activated the safety and placed it aside as well as his M6G Magnum which was soon joined by his Combat Knife. Once the weapons were away he walked over to a nearby boulder and sat down to face the two Daily Planet reporters and Super-man himself.

Super-man considered using his X-ray vision to finally see who the Spartan really was, but John was well aware of Super-man's intentions and he then spoke with his voice being altered once more to Super-man.

"Don't use your X-ray vision Super-man, there is no need for it here, as you can see, I am not here with hostile intentions. I already know about you and your own secrets, so I suggest you restrain the thought of looking to see my face. Don't take that as a threat however, I am merely stating facts and I will not reveal your secret in exchange you will not reveal mine."

The stopped Super-man cold and he wondered just what was going on and decided to play it safe for now and nodded as he spoke to the Spartan.

"Fair enough, now then you requested a meeting didn't you, may I ask what this meeting is about?"

"You're trusted friend Lois was right about me wanting to explain myself you know, that's why I am here, I know you disapprove of some of my methods so I want to make some things clear."

"All right then…tell us why."

"I have been trained to take life without hesitation. That much the two of you two no doubt already know and saw for yourselves when you were at the World Assembly Building, and saw in the news reports when I fought with Intergang. If I wanted to, I would have just killed them outright."

Super-man frowned at that admission.

"You're not exactly making a good case for yourself Spartan."

"I know, but I'm not done with the explanations just yet. I may have been trained to kill Super-man, but I have also been trained by my teachers how to tell the difference between right and wrong and to know when the only option to save lives is at times to take another person's life. My head trainer also taught me one lesson, there is a difference between a soldier and a murderer. A soldier fights to protect those under his oath of service even if it means killing another person or persons to do it, a murderer kills others for much darker and more selfish reasons and does not have a a higher reason other than to kill."

Lois then spoke.

"Judging from what I have heard, you sound like you've been in the military, how long have you been there anyway?"

John looked at Lois and replied.

"All my life if you wanted to know Miss Lane, but that part of my life however will remain a secret. I have many secrets, and I will not reveal them no matter what happens. Suffice to say that I will only use lethal force if the situation reaches a point that it can be the only option. That is my stance Super-man, as it is your stance to fight to protect others without resorting to lethal force. Our methods may differ, but our goals are the same. To protect people and make sure that they live in peace, or am I wrong?"

Super-man remained silent for a moment or two and replied,

"All right, I can see that trying to make you change your mind won't work well, but I can tell that you're sincere."

"And how do you know that?"

"You're heart beat, it's calm and steady and you didn't carry any tone of malice as far I have heard, though you seemed to have altered your voce, no doubt as a precaution to make sure that your real voice is not known to me. And I have to say it's pretty good since I can't seem to break it. Either you're the best actor I have ever met or you are sincere in your intentions."

"And you're willing to take that risk?"

"Yes."

John nodded at that and stood up as he and Super-man shake hands though Super-man then spoke.

"Just so you know, I hope that the day that you have to use lethal force does not come without a good reason Spartan."

"That makes two of us then."

With that done, the meeting between the two was ended and just as before Clark Kent decided not to use his X-ray vision as he, Lois, and Jimmy decided to head back to Metropolis a day or so later after getting all the relevant facts and information on the Spartan's newest appearance and give their report to Perry and see what else they could get from their own respective sources. After a while, Clark headed home but he was not referring to his apartment and headed back to Smallville to take to his parents.

As for Lois and Jimmy, they had a feeling that this was not going to be the end of their reporting on not just Super-man but also this Spartan as well and that was something that the two reporters were looking forward to.

…

In the Kent House…

Martha and Jonathan Kent listened to their son on what he had talked about with the Spartan days before and they were not alone as Kara was there as well, the younger cousin was very much curious about this Spartan and what was the result of her cousin's meeting. As soon as Clark was done, Kara spoke to him in a very annoyed but not angry tone of voice.

'Why didn't you tell me that you were going to meet the guy again?"

"It was on assignment from the Planet Kara, besides, didn't you have midterm exams to deal with at the time?"

Kara sighed as she knew that her cousin did have a point in that regard, but still, she had aced those exams without missing a beat. In fact, most if not all of the chemistry, physics, and biology courses here on Earth would have been used to teach babies back on her home world of Argo. She might not have too many memories of her past life back on her world but she recalled the education they had there.

Of course in order to keep herself as per her cousin's request, from standing out too much due to being an alien, she kept her abilities under wraps. She wondered just how did her cousin ever manage to keep himself hidden for so long now and it still confused her at times.

"But still, it would have helped, I still wanted to thank him for that mess in the World Assembly Building a few days ago."

Jonathan then spoke in his usual way.

"Sounds like the Spartan is dead serious about how he does things his way Clark, but at least you know that he is not going to resort to such methods without good reason."

"I know Dad, but still, it's not easy to know that he's actually willing to go that far."

Martha nodded at that and replied.

"That's true Clark, but if what you told us is true, he is doing things the way he was trained to do, and at the very least he does not go to the point of using more excessive force. The best you can do is go your way and let him go his for the time being, but if he does not go beyond it without good reason, then step in. But be careful okay son."

"I agree with your mother there, from we've seen in the news, he's no pushover."

"I know, Bat-man thinks the same thing and he wants to keep an eye on him as well so I guess we have to just make the most of it."

Kara then spoke to her cousin.

"And next time Clark, at least if you ever meet him, tell me so I can come along to thank him, it does not feel right to not thank him at all for what he did before."

Clark sighed a bit and nodded with a slight smile.

"I'll keep that in mind Kara, but I have a feeling that it might be a while before we see him again, he only shows himself in public if the police and their units can't handle a situation. He seems to want the police to handle everything that they could manage and only shows up when they can't handle it."

Martha then spoke her own thoughts concerning that aspect of this new hero who had shown up in New York.

"I guess he seems to want the police to handle situations on their own that they can manage and not rely on him all the time. It's different in many ways from what other heroes do including you Clark, but it does make some sense as well. So what do you think does he do when he's not donning the armor?"

"I honestly don't know Mom, he might have a job in New York but New York's a big place so he could be anywhere there and also there's not that many jobs that could fit the criteria for someone of that man's abilities. He could be anything he wants to be in that city as well as anyone he wants to be. Besides that, I don't think that I should butt into his affairs right now, if he's in New York and he's working there, there's little reason for me to go to New York myself and keep an eye on him, I doubt he'd appreciate it."

Clark then looked out into the stars and replied.

"Besides that I get the feeling that this will not be the last meeting I'll have with this Spartan, not by a long shot. I just hope that those meetings are going to be in a good series of circumstances and situations."

…

Clark was not alone as Bruce, along with other heroes on Earth who were developing some level of interest in the Spartan were working hard in trying to find out more about the Spartan though the each used different methods. But unknown to them, the Spartan was not currently on Earth as the Dawn was currently outside of the Solar System as Cortana decided to get some more resources that were only found outside of the system while keeping the Dawn hidden from sight.

John himself had his own reason to be in the ship as well, he felt comfortable and he could at least be in a situation that was familiar to him.

…

In the Dawn…

John was currently firing in the shooting range of the converted Frigate to ease off the tension, he had locked down his shop and had taken the MJOLNIR out from the base and wore it, he felt a lot more at ease with it on this time and that helped him relax a bit more while firing the basic MA5C Assault Rifle at several targets and when he was done, he moved up from his prone firing position and decided to reload to a fresh magazine as the score was shown at a nearby holographic terminal. So far his skills as a marksman had not been lost and that was good enough for him for now as he placed the weapon on safety mode and headed to the nearby weapon rack. He locked in the weapon and headed to the nearby staircase and headed into the area where Cortana was running the ship's manufacturing area and she was doing so for a very good reason.

She had some new tests to run on one of her new projects involving some new variants of the MJOLNIR designs. He had no idea just what she wanted to do with those, but he trusted Cortana a great deal when it came to such things. As he arrived in the manufacturing area, he saw just what she was doing as several models of the MJOLNIR Mark X in different configurations were there before him and he was surprised.

Cortana appeared next to the Spartan through one of her newly built floating robots that served as a mobile display platform and she smiled at him as she leaped off and turned to her full Avatar form, much to John's surprise. Cortana noted that and gave him a sly smirk and replied.

"What? I like this ability and besides, it helps being human sized every now and then."

John sighed and directed his attention to the new MJOLNIR suits before him and Cortana as they were still being assembled by the Constructors and Huragok.

"May I ask what these suits are for Cortana?"

"Just because you've got a more advanced model does not mean you have to wear it ALL the time, a little variety is in order you know."

The Spartan shook his head and was about to ask why she would use materials and resources to make more of the MJOLNIR when this one was more than adequate for his needs, Cortana saw that and replied.

"These suits are not just for aesthetic purposes John, I built them in order to deal with specialized situations as well as give some new abilities in order to give you options to deal with anything that can be harder even with the MJOLNIR, plus it will keep your foes guessing to what you can or cannot do. They follow the same functions of the MJOLNIR Mark X but are unique, but I have made sure that you can interchange components as well from one suit to the other as all suits and components are modular in design and function so they will not be too restrictive in combat. Adds a bit more flavor if you ask me."

"I can understand that, but shouldn't it be better to just make the components and allow me to use those instead?"

"True, but like I said, the new suits will be useful in the long run and when dealing with different foes. At any rate, they are still in the testing phases for their respective functions so I don't expect you to start wearing them into battle just yet. But I do need you to routinely come here so we can outfit them on you and run them through their paces as well as test how we can interchange parts if and when needed to do so."

John sighed and Cortana spoke gently to him.

"I care about you John, that's why I went through the trouble of making these. Those Metahumans down there are not going to be easy to beat, especially the ones with powers that might become serious threats in the future and who might become enemies for whatever reason. No sense not giving you the best that I can give to make sure you come back alive."

John looked at Cortana and she looked pensive and serious in her words. He knew that she cared for him as a very important friend and partner, and that was something he appreciated. Back then he didn't trust her when they first met, but the years they had spent fighting as one made him trust her without reservations.

Which was why he decided not to make any more complaints towards what Cortana had been doing for a while now and at least see what these could do, the beings with powers on this Earth and no doubt the rest of this new universe that they were now part of were not to be underestimated and if he did find himself in a serious situation, it made sense to at least have options open to him when he would face them in combat and not just options when it came to weapons either.

"Thanks for that, I'll always be here when you need me."

Cortana looked at him and smiled warmly while glowing in a deeper and brighter hue which was her way of saying thank you in a more 'visual' fashion.

"Good to know."

John decided to humor her a bit more and replied.

"Just so you know Cortana, I am a Spartan, not a mannequin, so don't think this is similar to a fashion show."

Cortana smirked and replied to that.

"Right…but it could be fun you know, you're sporting the new MJOLNIR every now and then and we can make those something the other Spartan would love to get their hands on if and when we find our way home, it will be great. Besides that, weren't you the one who showed near childlike enthusiasm when you heard of the Combat Skins for the first time?"

John chuckled a bit as she did get him there and he did show a liking to the idea when he heard of them.

"All right then, what's first one of those new MJOLNIRs do you want me to test anyway?"

Unknown to John and Cortana, those new suits and their weapons were soon going to be sent into a battle which would see a great change in the very future of the Earth that they had now landed in and inhabited.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Now we have a new chapter and that should help keep things in order until I can finally get some other word done.

This chapter is not as action packed or as fast paced, but I needed to think this through for now and address a few things before doing anything else with the story. And you can bet that there will be a number of things that I have to deal with before I can go ahead and make any new chapters for this story of mine as the date draws ever closer.

I also have resurrected the Armor Permutations and gave them some new functions to boot, what those are however are going to remain in the planning stage as I plan to keep the Chief to using his basic MJOLNIR Mark X. It will serve as the baseline armor and the other will have some new functions and abilities based on the first but have become more specialized.

This should address some of the situations that John would find himself in and also in dealing with a different number of foes that will need to be dealt with in a different fashion. I am not planning to turn John into a God or something, more like give him options in not just his weapons but his MJOLNIR as well.

…

I had a complaint that the idea of John sparing the lives of the first batch he fought with and I hope to point out that I have my reasons for such decisions. John can decide if he wants to use lethal force or not and that is what I wanted to project when I made this story of mine. He might be a Spartan II Commando and has a huge number of kills to his name, but he is not just some guy with a gun. He was trained to know when fighting is appropriate and also when lethal force is to be used in the battle field.

He will reach that point since no matter what one can see, there have been kills made in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited shows, but those are naturally off-screen, John will not do that, if he will kill, it will be for the right reasons and for the right purpose.

And that is that on my end of the matter so I hope that this lays that case to rest, if not then that is not a concern of mine anymore.

…

There was one issue that was brought to my attention was that John-117 would be in a bad league with all the Metahumans about. That's not entirely true, and here's my reasoning as to why John is not going to be an easy opponent to face off with by most Metahumans.

In the Halo lore, when Humanity discovered the physics of Slipspace and eventually developed the Slipspace Drive, they knew that there would be worlds that would be different from Earth in many ways, and while some could be inhabited, there would be seen and unseen obstacles that colonists would have to overcome in order to adapt to the new world. These could range from higher gravity levels, different oxygen levels in the atmosphere, different bacteria that might have adverse effects on the human body and so on.

In order to address that, early UNSC and UEG sponsored and funded colonists underwent extensive medical evaluations to make sure that they were the fittest of the fit in order to handle the demands of not just space travel when not in Slipspace, but also on inhabiting the new worlds and colonizing them as well as terraforming those said worlds. And they would also be given gene therapy, as well as passive bio-enhancement in order to make them a lot stronger to deal with those same rigors as well.

In that regard, many of the colonists would have been chosen from the best and the brightest that humanity in the UNSC and the UEG and were bio-engineer enhanced to boot to better their chances. This was a trend that carried on until the formation of the UNSC before the Insurrection and the eventual conflict between the UNSC and the Covenant. These colonists eventually became the majority of the people from the Inner Colonies and the Outer Colonies of the UNSC.

And while the bio-enhancements in question were not military grade, they did prove to help the colonists grow and prosper so it would not be surprising that those enhancements would become part of the Human genome in the Halo universe. This was the basic protocol for space colonization in the Halo universe and it was only when the first Spartan Program started by the CMA named Project ORION that the development of military grade augmentations began.

…

I have mentioned this before in VanDread Halo and in VanDread Halo the Second Stage so I should not go too far, but for this I will point out another matter.

After the shutting down of Project ORION the research done of the enhancements and their results continued into what we know today was used in the Spartan II Program. And the fact that Dr. Halsey proposed that only children with the proper genetic markers as well as physical and mental traits were to be part of the program added to that. These children were already showing abilities, both physical and mental that made them superior to those of regular age and could have been the results of the bio-engineering enhancements taken by their ancestors when the colonization began and was passed down from generation to generation.

And these children selected no doubt were the results of those enhancements being more dominant in their bodies, making them a step above the baseline human of the era in the UNSC.

As we know from his profile, John was already a superior human at the tender young age of six, he was a head taller, physically stronger, faster, having an aggressive desire for success, high intellect and luck as well. These traits were not as pronounced such as Kelly's tremendous speed and reflexes, or Samuel's raw physical strength, or Linda's deadly sniper's eye, but played a key role in his survival through the Spartan II Program and the wars he took part in.

…

In that regard, one can say that John and his fellow Spartans are the Halo universe's version of Metahumans. In the DCAU universe, Static coined the term Metahuman which means Post-Human, this was used by him since Bang Baby or Mutant would have been offensive. In later stories and in the DCAU universe, this term was used by the public to identify humans who had been changed by natural or artificial means.

Now John and his brother and sister Spartans can't shoot energy from their hands, shoot lasers from their eyes, move objects with their minds, make illusions, unleash powerful sonic cries, create energy constructs, unleash fire and all that. But in every respect before and after the Spartan II Program, one could already consider the Spartan IIs as Metahumans as their abilities were impressive at a young age after their recovery.

And as recorded, they got better with age, experience, and training, making them the famed heroes of the UNSC and Humanity as they are today.

This is my answer to that idea that John is out of his league with the DCAU characters, and why in my mind, he is not to be underestimated by anyone.

…

Now with that out of the way, I hope for some time to get to work on my other pressing projects in real life and here in the internet as well, see you all soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: Again? All right, I do not own Halo or DC. There' happy now?

Chapter 2

Part 1

Call for Unity

…

The images were vivid…

They were strong…

John found himself wearing his MJOLNIR and holding his MA5C and watching as strange figures were running around him. He looked, trying to find anything that could tell him what was going on. But the figures kept running…their mouths opening in what looking like cries.

At first it was silence, there was nothing for him to hear and he tried to speak but found that he had no voice.

He looked around…then he saw something…a massive form that came above…it was like a Scarab in size, but nowhere near the same shape of the technological War machine that the Covenant were known to use in battle with the UNSC.

Then he heard the screams, all around him the figures began to cry out, and he could tell that despite their alien intonation and pitch, they were screaming in fear, panic, and terror. He had no idea what was going on and then saw figures firing beams at the figures that were screaming in terror.

His reflexes kicked in and he tried to fight but it seemed that his weapon was empty and did not function at all, it was here that he heard a voice.

"They….took….our home….now…they come, to claim...yours….fight them….help me."

"Who are you?"

"They…are…coming….hurry…."

"Who is coming?"

"They...here…you,must...must resist…fight!"

….

John opened his eyes and as soon as he began to recover his wits, he found himself in the room of his shop/base and shook his head, sitting on the bed. The nearby holo-tank came online and Cortana appeared. The A.I was looking very worried at the state the Spartan was in. This was not the first time this had happened in her mind as she spoke to the Master Chief.

"John…"

"It's…clearer now, at least this dream was a bit clearer at any rate."

The A.I was worried, it was only a day after returning to Earth and after testing the very first of the MJOLNIR variants that John was being struck by a series of vivid dreams. The dreams were hard to see at first, but as time passed, the dreams became more vivid and John was not getting a good amount of peace. Whatever it was that was affecting John was beginning to worry Cortana as she spoke to him.

"What exactly did you see John?"

John explained what he saw, making sure to explain all that he had seen in the dream as even the tiniest detail could prove critical. As son as he was done, Cortana was deep in thought as she compiled the information into her database. She had recorded the dreams when she could and while some of the images were seen, they seemed to be a lot clearer to the Spartan than to her, meaning that these were not regular dreams.

"This is not good, I've managed to isolate some things, but these dreams and why you are having them still eludes me, I have looked over all of your files John, and none of these dreams you have been getting lately match any of the ones you have."

The Spartan did not like the sound of that as he got up and got himself dressed, these dreams didn't feel normal to him, it was like something was trying to be placed on him. It sounded utterly strange but there was no denying the fact that he felt that something was wrong and that was not a very good feeling.

As soon as he was ready, he decided that now was the time to get to the bottom of this, he knew that he had no prior commitments and that meant that he had plenty of time to figure out just what he needed to get done. He turned to Cortana and spoke seriously to her.

"These dreams are coming for a reason, and I intend to find out just what is the reason for those dreams.."

Cortana nodded,but before anything could happen, she glowed a bit and spoke to John.

"Hold up, there is something going on John."

John stopped and spoke to the A.I

"What is the situation Cortana?"

"I just picked up signs of a battle breaking out in one of the areas where a Wayne-tech space observation lab is located. I'm also picking up the images now."

John turned as Cortana showed the images before the Spartan, he saw Bat-man engaging what appeared to be a trio scientists who appeared to actually be more than a match for Batman. The Dark Knight of Gotham was fighting for his life with these three which served to confuse the Spartan as Cortana zoomed in the images and looked at the scientists more closely.

One was a heavy set African American woman, the other was an Asian, and the other was the run of the mill overweight elderly American scientist, but all three of them were moving too fluidly to be human at their age and physical build, this was enough to warn John that something was going on and it was not going to be something that was the least bit pleasant.

"Cortana, run a full thermal scan on the three of them as well as on Batman, those three are moving too differently for people of their appearance and occupation."

"Already on it John."

The images changed to thermal imagery and already the two could see what Batman was not apparently able to see, the three did not release the same level of body heat a normal person would, even more so when doing strenuous activity. They were cold with few heat signatures as the battle went on.

Cortana was surprised and ran the scans again in mere moments, switching from thermal, to X-ray, Radiation spectrum, and finally bio-scan mode for human life signs, these scientists were not human, Metahuman, or even cyborgs.

"Aliens."

John nodded as the images returned to normal just as Batman fought one while the others fled, no doubt Bruce was trying to corner one of the disguised aliens to even the odds, but the alien was too strong and fast for Bruce and it seemed that Bruce was in trouble as the alien had the upper hand until Super-man came on the scene. Both Spartan and A.I watched in the belief that with Super-man in the area, this would be resolved and they could find out just what was going on. Suddenly Super-man seemed to seize up and become unconscious.

The Spartan frowned at that as Batman was forced to abandon the chance to chase the alien to save the still unconscious Super-man as the station was soon destroyed. He looked at it carefully as the destruction was very thorough, telling him that the disguised alien attackers were not foolish, they wanted to make sure that the destruction of the station was complete and would take months or even years to rebuild.

He and Cortana saw the scientists moving away with their bodies twisted in less than healthy positions which even the best contortionists could not accomplish unless they had bodies of literal rubber. This further reinforced the thoughts in the Spartan's mind and the A.I's thought matrix that something serious was going on

He turned his attention to the images of Bat-man to the now awakened Super-man, he didn't need to say anything to Cortana as the A.I focused the images and she quickly focused the audio system to determine just what were that the two heroes talking about. Apparently the conversation was directed at the series of stations that had been sending signals into deep space and then after sending those signals, were destroyed, This had been going on when he and Cortana were running tests on the MJOLNIR variants so they were not aware of this.

This was more than enough to worry both John and Cortana as the Spartan turned to his long time companion.

"Something's happening her Cortana, I can feel it."

"No arguments there John, if what we've seen is true, there must be some sort of alien infiltration going on here on Earth, and judging from what we've seen, I doubt that these aliens are here to make peace."

They saw and heard Super-man offering his help to Bat-man but the Dark Knight refused yet Super-man gives him a signal transmitter anyway. As soon as the two heroes parted, John was already running the scenario of what had happened into his mind. The only reason that alien forces or any infiltration force would send signals to deep space was to update their other forces, the Vanguard of a strike force of the current situation on their target.

The destruction was no doubt also to make sure that any means to detect their fellow attackers was to be removed, leaving the planet blind, deaf, and dumb. Once that was done, the next possible step was to find ways to deactivate or weaken the planet's ability to launch a full scale defense as well as a counter attack. But there was no doubt that these three scientists were not going to be the only agents of their kind on Earth, which would mean that they would have an agent on Earth in place already and in a high ranking position as well as other forces in play as well.

John turned to Cortana and filled his companion in on what he had been able to come up with, Cortana ran the numbers for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"You've got a point John, however, the only way that Earth could possibly launch a counter attack apart from a combined assault by the armed forces as well as any heroes in reach would be with the use of nuclear weaponry."

"Then that will be their next target."

"Then the question is how they plan to accomplish it. Doing what they did with the stations would raise too many alarms. It would have to be a move that no one on Earth would ever expect."

John agreed, yet he knew that with what they knew as well as their own experiences in the thirty years of fighting the Covenant, they were not going to remain idle, only Super-man and Bat-man so far had some idea that something major was going down, but he and Cortana were not going to remain quiet..

"Either way, we have to be ready if this is indeed is a prelude to a full invasion; we're going to need some eyes and ears Cortana, namely those that cannot be seen."

"Already on it, we need to head back to the Dawn and you had better close down the shop for a while, looks like we're going to be very busy from here on out."

John nodded as he wasted no time in locking down his place and sending e-mail messages to his prospective clients that he was closed due to some issues that he needed to have addressed. He also made sure to sent a message to his suppliers and the webmaster of his decision to lock up for an indefinite period of time. Once he was done, he quickly donned the MJOLNIR Mark X as Cortana soon teleported him back to the Dawn which was currently on the other side of Earth. In order to avoid being spotted early, they moved to the dark side of the moon for now as Cortana began to develop some new ways to keep an eye on the outer rims of space.

These options included Clarion Spy Drones as well as BLACK WIDOW Communication Satellites that were also rebuilt to have Forerunner and UNSC sensors, along with an improved stealth system. Cortana also installed Dumb A.I into them to further add to the effectiveness. While that was going on, John was already running through his weapon options, these aliens were new to him so he had to be ready to switch to his other weapons as there was no telling if they were immune to conventional ballistics.

…

Later…

As John and Cortana watched what was happening in the World Assembly, the announcement made by Senator J. Allen Carter of having Super-man being the world's protector was met with surprise and some level of skepticism by the both of them. Not that they did not trust the Kryptonian by any standard, but even someone as super powered as Super-man could not possibly be able to handle everything.

Disarming all the world's nuclear weapons arsenal also was not something they liked, even though public support for the disarming project was high, John did not see it as a wise move. Considering what he and Cortana knew, disarming the nuclear weapons of the world was something that should not be done. Nuclear weapons in the UNSC had been critical to give them a fighting chance when the Covenant came into play and while their supplies dwindled, they still were key in many battles. They were deadly as well as hazardous to the world but John knew that in order to preserve peace, one at times needed a sharp sword.

And what Super-man was doing right now was a dangerous action that would leave the world helpless to what was going to happen soon. There had been sings that celestial bodies were moving in Earth's direction. The Clarions scanned them and detected some sort of interference at play but that was going to wait as John began to look at the images of Super-man deactivating numerous nuclear missiles and rendering them inert and harmless. He was concerned with Senator Carter as something about his disarmament plans did not feel right in his mind.

He read the files that the Senator had been an Astronaut and was part of a Mars mission and had come back afterwards when an accident had sent the whole mission in an uproar. He had Cortana access the files which was well within her capacity to accomplish. He had recorded the files and noted that while it looked normal, something about the whole event still troubled him. There was something in the plan of Carter that was sending feelings of danger up and down the Spartan's gut.

He directed his attention to something else and that was the sight of Bat-man moving about in Metropolis, something that meant it was a critical mission that the man was undertaking, Cortana scanned the building that Bat-man was entering and determined that it was a Star Labs complex that was left abandoned.

However, Cortana's scanning of the building determined something.

"John, I'm reading several signatures, definitely alien and the others appear to be human in one of the lab rooms. Better get ready, I have a feeling that Bat-man is about to walk into trouble."

…

And Cortana was right…

Bat-man looked at the discovery of the scientists, the real ones being held in what appeared to some sort of stasis pod, like the ones he had seen in those science fiction comics and films he had seen sparingly as a child before the murder of his parents. Most would have never thought it would happen, but after all he had seen, he knew better, and the world also knew better this time around.

He managed to free the elderly scientists and was relieved to see he was alive but unconscious, however he hardly had the time as a growling sound came as he moved his flashlight to the door he had just entered. The appearance of a guard dog was the answer as the thing quicly attacked him, intent on tearing his throat out. The Dark Knight stopped it though he had never heard of a dog being this strong and he knew having fought with canines in the past. He forced the dog off of him and evaded as it came bak, using his acrobatics to get above and to a wall.

But the Dog actually climbed on the wall morphing into a white gentling like creature, showing that it was no Earth born dog. The dark Knight now knew that this was not going to be easy as the creature smashed into him like a freight train. It followed him down and quickly slashed at him with hit's claws, then knocking him through the wall.

He groaned in pain as the impacts had really done a number on him, though he had enough energy to press the transmitter Super-man gave him before losing consciousness.

The creature came towards Bat-man, intent on finishing the Dark Knight as it readied it's jaws and claws to kill the now helpless Dark Knight. It was not going to get the chance as several impacts hit it hard. The creature roared as it turned to face it's attacker, just as it did so, a massive form smashed into it, sending it flying back into several crates and into a wall. The creature roared out and soon spotted the Spartan before it.

John fired several rounds from his MA5C that used standard ballistic ammunition and discovered that the creature's body was resistant to bullets, yet that hardly bothered him as he quickly smashed the creature aside as it tried to bite him. Seeing that bullets would not cut it, he decided on a more radical approach the second he got on top of the creature before it could recover.

John grabbed the mouth of the dog like alien as it roared and tried to attack the Spartan, but John did not bother as his shields were able to hold off the attacks. He then moved his arms outward while holding the upper and lower jaws of the alien beast. The result of such an action was obvious as the creature howled in inhuman pain.

The Spartan ignored it as he finally tore the creature in half as it 'died' and was now nothing more than a bloody mess on the ground. Cortana then spoke to him as she used his MJOLNIR to scan the creature's liquid remains.

"Definitely alien, no discernable bone structure, could be the same as the alien scientists we saw earlier. It's more in line with an octopus without the bones so it must mean that it can morph it's body when it deems it necessary."

"Got it."

He turned to check on Bat-man as he easily lifted the debris covering the Dark Knight, just as Super-man arrived.

"No…"

Clark watched as the Master Chief got Bat-man up and he quickly rushed in to help Bruce up and he spoke.

"How is he?"

"He's got some muscle trauma and a slight concussion as far as I can diagnose, he'll recover but it might take a while."

Super-man nodded with some level of relief in his face as the two of them got the man out of the building, as the did so however, Cortana spoke to John with a level of worry in her voice.

"Chief, we've got an incoming asteroid matching the ones we've scanned earlier, it's heading right in your direction."

"Anything about it that's off the charts?"

"Yeah, I've run a scan and there seems to be…machines in them, but biological at the very same time, I get the feeling that this is not a regular asteroid coming our way."

"Agreed, ETA?"

"Right about now!"

Sure enough both he and Super-man spotted the incoming asteroid, John knew that the alien invasion had begun right there and then. He quickly decided that now was the right time to take a peek in his rucksack to see if he could find something to get Bat-man up to speed. He moved away, removing the pack from his back, opened it and took out a dose of wake-stims."

'What are those?"

"Wake-up stimulants, they are harmless, fast acting, and non-addictive alternatives to caffeine."

John loaded the stimulants into an injector and shot it into Bat-man's blood stream at the neck, already the drugs were into the man's body, quickly waking Bat-man up from his state of unconsciousness.

"Uh…"

"Bat-man, you all right?"

Bruce turned to see Super-man, and the Spartan himself and spoke to the armored human.

"So you're the Spartan, I thought you were based in New York."

"Now is not the time, the city is under attack, that asteroid's carrying alien war machines, we have to move now."

The two heroes saw the massive smoke and Super-man used his-X-ray vision and saw the slumbering forms in the asteroid that had crashed into the city, he also saw them moving as well.

"The Spartan's right Bat-man, we have to move."

Super-man moved ahead, while John looked at Bat-man, Bruce saw that and replied as well.

"I'll be fine."

…

The machines in the asteroid came out and were three legged walkers that looked to be a mixture of white and red. They looked to be techno-organic and were armed with a high powered laser. The Metropolis SCU and police fought as best they could but their bullets were not effective in bypassing the armor as the alien walkers began to attack in earnest. After several vehicles and some buildings were destroyed and even as Super-man came in to attack, he was forced back by the blast of one of the walkers.

Bat-man however came in with his fighter and fired several missiles to no effect as he was quickly reduced to dodging the attacks as it fired several short but powerful laser bursts at him. The Master Chief arrived and quickly began to add his fire to the still resisting SCU members and Police. He knew that conventional rounds were not going to work on machines this size from personal experience in fighting Covenant Scarab Walkers but at least he could help keep the things from getting too nosey.

He quickly helped rescue a civilian before her car was blasted apart and got her to safety as he switched to using his Plasma grenades, he tossed them to the Walker's legs, causing a bright blue explosion that seemed to get the Walker's full attention just as Super-man came on the scene and smashed his fists into the organic machine.

John turned and spoke calmly to the still present civilians, panicking before civilians was a bad idea and would only make things worse.

"Get to safety now, this is not the best place to be!"

John reloaded his MA5C and went back into the fight and fired several bursts to try and get that thing's attention and he quickly resorted to using the SPNKer M41 Rocket Launcher. He fired two salvos into the target while reloading another set on the move. This had been enough to get the full attention of the Walker as it aimed at him.

Super-man apparently was able to get the massive piece of debris off of him and that was good news to the Spartan as he reloaded another rack of missiles but knew that ammunition was limited so he had to make it count. He however heard another amount of groaning from the asteroid as Cortana spoke to him.

"Looks like the others are waking up John."

"Oh joy, more company."

The Asteroid revealed two more alien walkers, John moved in and fired the next salvo to the first walker, he stopped however as he spotted a wounded police officer on the ground, quickly placing his weapon aside, he rushed to get him to safety and did so as the man was evacuated by his fellow police officer. That however cost him as the walker managed to get a lock on him as Cortana spoke.

"JOHN! INCOMING!"

Cortana quickly routed all available power to the shields as the laser hit at him, it missed by an angle but was enough to send him flying backwards.

"SPARTAN!"

Super-man shouted as he saw John go down, but was relieved to hear that John was still alive, thanks to his shield armor as he heard the man's heart beat and breathing. He focused himself but suddenly was hit by another series of images. As soon as it was over, the nearby reporter was surprised when Super-man suddenly took off…in the opposite direction.

…

In the Spartan's mind…

"**Do not give up yet Spartan, you have weathered many battles and did many things to be stopped now."**

"**You are needed once more, the sword and shield mankind, you must stand up and keep fighting!"**

The images came back, only this time, they were clear to him, there was a beautiful city as meteors came and soon he saw the city ruined and becoming like a warzone. He saw white skinned aliens which he could see through overwhelming green skinned aliens who fought back hard but were soon losing their ability to fight their invaders, some were killed mercilessly, others were placed in pods that soon destroyed them and more, and he then saw the world to be none other than Mars itself.

"**You must not let what they did to my people happen to Humanity, I am here on Earth to help fight them, but I need your help Spartan, you must get up." **

John shook his head mentally, trying to get his thoughts back into order and soon heard Cortana's voice.

"Thank you…you have any idea how worried I was?"

"Sorry…I feel like I got sent through atmosphere again after getting out of that Dreadnaught. What happened to those walkers?"

"They're still here, but Super-man broke off from the battle and so did Bat-man, I can't believe that they would back away, granted they were not doing well on their own but still."

"We can worry about that later, I have a feeling that this is merely going to the opening salvo, we need to change weapons and tactics, conventional bullets are not going to cut it."

"Right, you'll have to play the escape and evasion game John, until you are in teleportation range for the Dawn. Once you get up here, you can arm up and get back into the fight."

"I know, but locate Super-man , I get the feeling that there's a very good reason as to why he broke off from the battle. He's not the kind to run away from saving the world unless something was urgent enough for him to do so. And there's one more thing Cortana."

"What?"

"Those dreams…I know why I have them now."

"You do?"

"Yeah, and I have a feeling that where Super-man and Bat-man are going, the source is there."

…

In the Dawn…

The reporter continued to oversee the situation as time passed, many of the people of Metropolis wondered where Super-man was while there had been reports of more of the aliens attacking in Paris, Cairo, and Malaysia and more were coming.

All of this was heard by John as he got back into the Dawn, and every moment of it filled the Spartan with a level of anger as he kept himself focused. He would do the world no favors by losing his cool now as he began to locate a new set of weapons as well as a much more advanced rucksack as he loaded it to the brim with supplies that eh felt he would need. If conventional ballistics were out, then energy weapons were in.

However, he knew that he was going to have his hands full with this and Earth needed all the help it could get, no matter where the help came from.

…

On a beach two women wearing what appeared to old style clothes that were worn by the ancient Greeks watched the horizon. Both women would have easily been considered very attractive and were on horses that looked to be very healthy as well. One was a blonde woman who carried herself with a regal air that one could easily associate with a Queen, while the other was a very attractive dark haired and blue eyed woman. The two were Amazons from the island nation of Themyscira who were recognized as capable warriors in their own right, and they were not ordinary either.

The blonde one was Queen Hippolyta and the other was her Daughter and Princess of the Amazons, Diana. Diana calmed down her horse when it seemed ill at ease with that was happening.

"Easy there girl…easy."

She then looked at her mother and spoke honestly.

"These storms do not bode well mother, mankind may be facing it's darkest hour."

The woman in question however replied seriously.

"Then mankind will have to face this dark hour alone."

Diana was surprised by that and made that clear to her mother.

"How can you say such a thing?"

Hippolyta remained silent for a moment and replied.

"Whatever happens beyond these shores is not our concern Diana."

As Hippolyta turned back to the city of her people, she spoke to her daughter in a tone of command but also with a motherly instinct.

"Here in our lands, the Gods will protect us."

Diana however was not convinced and she looked at her home and thought of the signs she had seen. Unlike her mother, she felt that sooner or later, that theory would be put to the ultimate test something that she did not want to see.

"I hope you are right mother."

…

And sure enough, John was right about what was going on, Super-man arrived into a hidden military base and was soon making his way into it but he was not alone as he was soon followed by none other than Batman himself. The Dark Knight had no idea why the Kryptonian had broken off and was attacking a government owned facility of all things but he had a feeling that he was going to find out . And he did as the two soon met a green skinned being named J'onn who could shape-shift and had taken a more human like appearance to no doubt convince Bat-man that he was not a threat.

Their attempt to get J'onn to help the military fight the threat was placed on hold however as the military forces there were not human and were now already trying to kill them. Super-man managed to cover their retreat by tossing at tank at the aliens trying to shoot them as Bat-man got J'onn into his fighter. The group tried to escape from the battle but just when it seemed that they were out of danger, they were brought back in as fighters came after them.

…

In the darkened city of Themyscira, the Amazons were taking their rest while the ones chosen to serve as security of their home at night were on patrol. However, they were not the only ones of their people moving about in the dark. A hooded and cloaked figure moved through the pillars of what appeared to be a temple. The deity there was Athena herself, the Greek Goddess of War, Wisdom, and Weaving, and one of the principle Goddesses of the Amazons.

There were several items on what appeared to be some sort of altar, those the figure reached and revealed herself to be Diana. The Princess looked back out to the temple and in effect her people, her homeland, and her mother.

Diana knew that what she was doing was a great offense to her people, the artifacts there were gifts from the Gods to be given to the Amazon champion. She was now going to use them to help save the world of men by stealing them. Such a thing would have been seen as a mistake by her people and her mother would greatly disapprove of it, but in her heart, Diana knew that what she was doing would save many lives but it was not easy for her either.

"Forgive me mother."

She removed her robe and began to don them all.

…

Super-man. J'onn, and Bat-man however were not going to be alone for long, Bat-man's fighter had been badly damaged and Super-man had been knocked out despite downing one of the alien fighters. The Bat Jet was rescued to Bat-man's surprise as J'onn told him that help had arrived, the rescuer was none other than Green Lantern John Stewart, former Marine of the US Marine Corps.

He focused on placing the downed fighter to the ground safely, when he was attacked, another hero of Earth, the one known as Hawkgirl came on the scene and used her mace to begin taking down fighters. Bat-man was completely caught off guard as he knew that Hawkgirl was on a different location and operated there on her own as well.

"Hawkgirl, what is she doing here?"

J'onn replied.

"I called for her help, I will go and help them as well."

J'onn teleported out and soon Green Lantern was joined by him, Hawk-Girl, and Super-man as the former Marine spoke.

"Sorry about arriving late, I had to deal with an uprising on Rigel 9."

The heroes broke off and engaged the enemy in their own way, J'onn using his ability to be intangible to force the alien fighters to end up shooting one another, Hawk-girl using her mace to attack the fighters, Super-man either punching them or grabbing them and swinging them around into the rock face, and John firing beams at them. So far the heroes were doing well enough though Bat-man was sidelined due to his fighter being taken out.

It was at this point that one of the alien fighters pursuing Hawkgirl manages to stop her from escaping as it shot a distance from her and causing an explosion that stuns the winged hero and she falls down, this was what the alien hoped at it closed it, only for another to appear.

Diana now dressed in full armor spoke to Hawkgirl.

"Allow me."

The alien fighter attacked, at the two unleashing beams of destructive force on Diana and Hawkgirl who's true name was Shaeyra Hol. Diana held her position and used her braces to block the attacks, sending the beams away. She had never seen beams of light before but was thankful that her bracelets could block them as she began to send them right back at their shooter. The results were worth it as the fighter was soon destroyed but was now on a collision course with the two, Green Lantern used his shield to form a bubble to defend the two.

Once that was over, he turned to Super-man.

"Who's the rookie with the tiara?"

Super-man hefted an alien fighter replied before tossing it aside.

"I don't know."

It was not long before the battle was down and dusted as a red streak came by, Bat-man was soon joined by Flash, carrying what appeared to the section of his fighter's wing that was cut off.

"Hey Bats, I think you dropped this."

It was here that Diana and Super-man landed and the second the speedster from Central City spotted the Amazon Princess, he was immediately attracted, as any normal man would, and he picked what he deemed as a classic pick up line as he handed the piece back to Bat-man who decided not to glare at Flash, until later that is..

"Whoa…where have you been all my life?"

"Themyscira."

Diana being unused to the world of men, and namely the modern world as her homeland had been isolated for a VERY long time was responding to Flash's question in a straight forward manner. This meant that she was very much unaware of the hidden meaning behind Flash's question.

Flash himself was surprised.

"What?"

That was when Shaeyra gave the answer to that particular question.

"That's the name of the home of the all female warrior culture of the Amazons. I thought that place was just a legend?"

They were soon joined by Super-man, J'onn, and Green Lantern; Diana then spoke to Shaeyra and in turn introduced herself to the other assembled heroes.

"I assure you that it is as real as the land we are standing on right now, I am Diana, Princess of the Amazons."

It was here however that Bat-man spotted six new fighters, apparently they were reinforcements sent by the aliens to make sure do kill them all.

"We've got company!"

…

The others turned and saw the fighters and all of them got ready for the fight that was soon to come.

But before things could get out of hand, three of the fighters were suddenly blasted by a massive laser beam that struck them dead center and destroyed all three of them as they were coming into formation to strafe the heroes. The heroes turned to look and saw the figure of the Master Chief appear, hefting what appeared to be a massive laser cannon on his shoulder. Super-man felt some surprise as the last he had seen the Spartan, he had taken a hit that forced him into a ruin, but now he was up and about once more. Before things could happen again, the three remaining fighters were coming hard to attack the new arrival.

The assembled heroes wondered just why was the Spartan waiting instead of firing his weapon as the alien fighters were moving in for a strafing run as Diana spoke with confusion and worry towards the man.

"What in the name of Athena is he waiting for?"

They got their answer as John then ran towards the fighters, he was nowhere as fast as Flash, but Flash was never known to wear a Powered Assault Armor unit before in his life. The weapons of the Alien fighters continued to miss as the Spartan was moving around to prevent himself from being caught off guard easily as he then reached for his MA5C, with this variant actually being the one that fired Plasma instead of regular ballistic ammunition.

As the fighters came closer, the Spartan leaped off the cliff and quickly activated the specially made gravity thruster pack that he had taken from the Dawn when he had teleported back for a change in weapons and tactics. This allowed him to fly and land on the back of one of the fighters, he wasted little time as he fired several charged bolts that helped melt through the plating as he took out a pair of C-12 shaped charged sachets and leaped off the alien fighter he had been on before and landed on a nearby ravine and took out the Spartan Laser from his back in a fluid motion and calmly waited for a weapon lock as the first fighter was torn apart by the sachets and the second one went to get a bead on him and was soon going to fire, when it did, his shields flared and took the hits without being compromised, much to Super-man's surprise as well as that of the others watching.

The Spartan replied in kind at the blasts with his own as the Spartan Laser tore into the fighter as it crashed towards him, John moved out of the way in that moment and was soon landing on the last fighter, but the last one tried to shake him off but apparently changed it's 'mind' as it flew towards the cliff face to try and scrap the Spartan off like a bug on a windshield to the eyes of the heroes who were still very much surprised to see that even at such high speeds, the Spartan stayed on his foe.

John quickly decided to get creative as he fired the Spartan Laser not at the alien but at the cliff and caused a massive rock slide to send boulders down towards them as the alien fighter. He then took out the pair of custom built Energy Swords after placing the Spartan Laser on his back, ignited both blades and driving them deep into the alien fighter, causing damage as he tore massive gouges into the armor plating and leaping off the fighter as it was unable to avoid the storm of boulders that came loose due to the damage to it's flight abilities and crushed it to the ground, resulting in a violent explosion.

John used his MJOLNIR's energy shield manipulation abilities to create gliding wings to help him land better as he was where the others were and when he was close enough to land safely he deactivated them and landed with a hard crash that made the Earth shake a bit as he turned to face the other heroes while he carried his MA5C Plasma Assault Rifle in hand and the Energy Swords on his hips once more.

He saw them react a bit, namely Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawk-girl, as well as the new arrival, he looked at the woman and could see that she was certainly someone who would easily stand out among the regular people, couple the looks with the choice of outfit, she was asking for a good number of ogling looks from people nearby. He however could tell that she was a fighter as her stance told him that easily enough. Only Super-man, Bat-man, and the strange green skinned being with the cape and tights were not surprised or wary of his appearance.

He spotted John Stewart aim the ring and speak in a commanding voice.

"Hold it right there, holster that weapon!"

John knew ignoring the former USMC Gunnery Sergeant was not the best way to make an impression so he decided to reply in his own fashion.

"I am not here to fight you USMC Gunnery Sergeant John Stewart."

John was surprised that the armored giant knew his name as well as his old rank in the Marine Corps as it had been a while since he had come back to Earth, but he placed that aside and spoke again.

"Forgive me if I am not convinced, now lower your weapon!"

"No Gunnery Sergeant Stewart, I will not, you are not my superior officer and as such I am not under your command. In fact, I'm the one who would outrank you if we were in the same service."

"Really? What's your rank in your branch then?"

"My rank in the Navy is Master Chief Petty Officer, Gunnery Sergeant Stewart."

John knew that rank well enough as he had worked with Naval personnel before when he was in the Marine Corps before becoming a Lantern and knew that this man was right, this man did outrank him, but he was not going to relent on the matter as he still aimed his ring at the Spartan who was now before Super-man. But before things could come to a head, Super-man spoke to him.

"Ease up Lantern, we don't have the time to argue, and he did help us after all."

John looked on and sighed mentally to himself and lowered his ring.

"Fine, but don't expect me to trust him just like that, I've heard of him and his willingness to use lethal force and that does not exactly make him a very good ally to me."

Hawkgirl also nodded as she too had seen the television file on the Spartan.

John ignored that for the time being and spoke to Super-man.

"Looks like we were going to meet sooner than we had both expected, you still suffering any more of those seizures by any chance Super-man?"

"None, though I am lucky you came in as you did, thought that walker back there in the city nearly had you."

"Spartans don't die Super-man, we're just missing in action."

John then took a look at the two new arrivals and they were definitely not in Cortana's database, he directed his question to the Amazon.

"I have done my research on many heroes, you however are new."

Diana looked at the Spartan and spoke to him in her usual regal and serious manner as well as a smile.

"I am Diana of Themyscira, I have just arrived to help defend the world of men, because I felt that even with my home and people being given protection by the Gods, I had to help as best I can."

John took that in and no doubt so did Cortana as this was an interesting development. He then decided to show the woman a measure of respect as she was a person of authority.

"I see then welcome to the Fight Princess, now then, who are you?"

J'onn knew that the question was directed to him and he decided to supply the Spartan with the answers that he was seeking.

"I am J'onn Jonzz the last Martian in existence, I telepathically summoned everyone as well as you Spartan."

The Spartan looked at the Martian and quickly put two and two together and spoke.

"So you were the one talking to me in those dreams that I have been having for a while now."

"Yes, I apologize for what I had done if it has caused you a great deal of trouble, but I had to tell you of what was to come, and I assure you that I have not done anything against your mind. My people long before they were wiped out by the invaders do not use our powers on an unwilling mind."

John visually relaxed a bit; he did not like the idea of some alien being having free reign in his mind of all things, no matter how benevolent the intentions were. Flash then spoke to the others as he was getting all the more confused by the moment.

"Look, I'm usually the kind of guy who's fast on the uptake, but can someone at least tell me what the heck is going on here?"

…

J'onn quickly began to fill them in on what happened on Mars nearly a millennia ago, his people had a bright and glorious civilization, and at the height of their prosperity and peace. The invaders shattered that as they came and soon the Marians were in war. They abhorred the taking of any life but to save what they could of their people. But the battles cost them dearly as the invaders fed on their psychic energies, and when they grew weaker, the enemy grew stronger and even took their ability of shape shifting.

He and his fellow survivors launched a final desperate assault to use a special nerve gas that they had developed and soon they attacked the stronghold. It was a successful operation, but the price was fatal, as this left J'onn as the last Martian left alive. He made it his mission to contain them in their Citadel in stasis but after five hundred years, the Mars mission undertaken by the astronauts freed the Invaders and with his people gone, the aliens targeted Earth next.

The Spartan and the A.I recorded that and decided that this could prove useful at a later date as par their usual training and program respectively.

…

Flash did not like in the least where this was going and made that clean in his next question.

"Wait a minute, if that's the case, then why didn't the astronauts on the Mars mission say anything about finding life on that planet to begin with?"

Lantern snorted at that and replied.

"Some pencil pusher back in Washington must have flagged the information top secret."

The Spartan shook his head and replied.

"You really think that it was that simple?"

They all looked at him as Bat-man asked him what was on their minds while John listened in.

"What's your take on the situation then Spartan?"

"Two astronauts find the discovery of a life-time on Mars, only for that said discovery to be a force of parasitic invaders and not report it as a top priority to be dealt with? An invading force of aliens will not going to allow themselves to be discovered before they can mount their attacks on a new world and a new race. They would have silenced anyone who found them and then made their move."

"You mean that?"

"Yes, J'onn did say that the invaders took his people's ability to shape shift and no doubt used this newly gained ability to send in those said infiltration teams to Earth once they were free and had J'onn imprisoned to make sure that he could not warn anyone and no doubt had agents to keep an eye on him. And you can wager a guess on what their mission was before the invasion began."

Lantern was silent and spoke after thinking about the information that was given by the Spartan while Diana was horrified by this discovery as Stewart spoke.

"That makes a hell of a lot of sense now that I think about it…this is bad, real bad."

Super-man looked like he had just seen a ghost, which was not far from the truth as he digested just what the Spartan had told them of what was the role played by the infiltration team of aliens on Earth.

"Senator Carter…"

"J. Allen Carter never left Mars, no doubt he was killed on Mars and was replaced by one of their soldiers and he was the one who helped the rest of their infiltration agents and advanced teams get here. No doubt they used his popularity and position in government to scout out Earth carefully and determine the defenses that could pose a threat and undermine it. They started with Waynetech's observation stations to cut down Earth's ability to sense their main forces until they were ready to strike, and then they would focus on disabling the nuclear arsenals that the world's militaries had on hand. And he was able to make you help them by removing Earth's only chance to fight back, leaving Earth defenseless so they can walk in and claim it."

Green Lantern growled and his eyes glowed in anger at the fact that Earth was now rendered helpless for invasion.

"Like hell they are! If they think that we're going to let them set one foot on this world, they are going to get what's coming to them!"

Super-man felt great shock at this and for a brief moment he recalled how he had been used by Darkseid and he felt sick to his stomach. He had thought that removing the nuclear arsenals was the right move, but now he had rendered his adopted world helpless..again.

John noted that and placed his hand on Super-man's shoulder and that snapped him out of it and he spoke to the Kryptonian.

"You did not know, so you are not at fault here, what we need to do now is to focus on what we have to do. There is an alien invasion that has to be stopped here and now."

Super-man nodded at that as he knew that there would be time for dealing with the invader who took Senator Carter's form. They had to deal with the soon to come invasion first and foremost, they were getting ready for the worst yet before they could do anything, the sky was soon being darkened and it was an unnatural cloud cover that seemed to spread all over the place. Flash saw that and was more than ready for a question on what was happening before them.

"What the heck is happening now?"

J'onn was able to provide a more than adequate answer.

"The invaders are nocturnal creatures and do not operate in the daylight, that is why they are currently deploying special factories that release a specially made ion particle field that helps block out the sun. They did the same to Mars when they invaded and that aided them considerably in eventually driving my people to extinction."

Flash decided to try and lighten the mood as it were, even though he knew that this was not going to sit well with the more serious heroes here. And naturally seeing that their foes were the night loving type, he turned to the Dark Knight himself.

"Friends of yours?"

Bruce already knew that the joke was directed at him and was not in the mood for such things

"This is not the time to act funny Flash."

Flash moved towards the Martian in his usual fashion and replied.

"Why are we worrying anyhow, all we have to do is make of that gas and then knock them all out with it and finish them off before they can be the wiser right? And I bet that you have the gas with you as well right J'onn?"

The Spartan looked at Flash and replied in the same calm tone but with a hint of sarcasm.

"Do you really think an enemy force is going to let that happen once they catch the one being who could warn us and stop them?"

"Huh?"

J'onn was quick on the uptake and finished what John had left hanging as it were.

"What the Spartan means that there is no way that I can use the gas, when we developed it, we used several rare Martian plants to do it. They do not grow on Mars anymore since the invaders ravaged my home-world. The samples I have that were still viable were destroyed when I was captured along with any of the gas supply that was usable as well. Without the plant samples, there is no way to make the gas at all."

Flash couldn't help but feel a bit defeated by that and replied lamely.

"So, uh what exactly is Plan B?"

Diana then replied in her own way as she knew that in this case, destroying the enemy's factories were a much better choice.

"Then we must focus on destroying the factories."

The Spartan nodded at the logic of that, if these aliens were indeed nocturnal, then depriving them of any cover that would allow them to operate would not only inhibit their ability to wage war, but make them easier to track down and corner.

"I agree with Princess Diana, if we deprive them of those factories, we hamper their ability to move and fight, that makes it easier to take them out before their invasion is in full swing. Not to mention they won't have any bases to operate from as well along with making it easier to mop up any remaining resistance cells once their invasion is halted."

Diana looked at the Spartan with a slight smile on her face, it was a bit surprising for her to hear a man agree with an Amazon, usually she expected the men to say no or consider her idea as foolish just because she was a woman, as what her mentors in the fighting arts back in Themyscira told her.

John Stewart however was not very happy with that and replied.

"This is not the time for amateurs' lady."

That was when an annoyed voice came out from the Spartan's armor.

"You've got to be kidding me! The world's about to be invaded and he's being hardnosed about it."

That startled the other heroes and the Spartan could not help but shake his head as he knew that Cortana had a point, they needed all the help that they could get their hands on so now was not the time to be picky. He quickly got to talking with Cortana in a private COM frequency as he could tell that the A.I was very annoyed and the last thing he wanted was Cortana in a foul mood, not that he was afraid of her going Rampant, but because now was not the time for them to be arguing.

"Cortana, calm down."

"I am calm John, but I can't believe that he's acting like this in the middle of an alien invasion. The woman has talents and got the right goal in mind so now is not the time to be picky on who to work with."

"I know you're angry, if you want to talk to him about it, then go ahead but keep in mind that we've got other enemies to deal with."

"Fine."

Before the other heroes could figure out just what happened, John wordlessly moved his left hand forward palm facing upwards, there was deep blue glow as a figure appeared, doll like in size but human in appearance. The figure stood up to reveal a short haired woman who looked as if she wore no clothing whatsoever though there moving lines of 'code' that seemed to be around her. The heroes were wide eyed with the exception of J'onn as the figure leaped off the hand of the Spartan, as soon as she landed on the ground, Cortana formed to full human height and with her appearance, it was enough to make Super-man turn away as he remembered that looking at a woman in that state was very impolite.

Bat-man was surprised indeed while Flash could not help but whistle in appreciation and awe.

"Wow…now there is something I wish I could see every day."

Cortana ignored that as she moved towards Green Lantern who himself was not expecting this of all things and therefore was not moving. The others watched as Cortana's eyes glowed red and she was soon before Lantern and spoke sternly at him.

"In case it escaped your attention Marine, the planet Earth is being invaded by an undeniably hostile alien race hell bent on turning this planet into a lifeless ball of ash and dust, they did that to Mars and now they want to do the same thing here."

" And right now the human race is going to need every able bodied HERO it can get to stop them!"

"Now he asked me to not be too harsh on you John Stewart since we have more pressing concerns, and I agree with him, I am programmed to be loyal to Humanity and defend it with every bit of my data core and I will. Wasting time in a fruitless argument on who's the more experienced is not going to save the Earth so let me make this clear once more so you can get the message Marine. You ARE going to need ALL the help you can get to fight them…and naturally that includes me, the Chief…"

Cortana then pointed to Diana who was still looking at her in surprise.

"And her, because as every soldier knows, the enemy does not give a damn who you are or what you are, they want you dead. She's got a stake in this battle, we all do, so swallow your pride Marine and accept her help, because if this battle goes to FUBAR, then she might the only one to keep you from being food to the aliens, we clear on that?"

With that, the A.I moved away and touched John's open palm and was downloaded back into the MJOLNIR in a moment. That was when Bat-man spoke in a calm tone but was thick with confusion as to what they had seen.

"What or who was that?"

John shrugged and replied.

"Her name is Cortana, an advanced Smart A.I, she's been working with me for years and she is very capable as an ally to me. So technically there are nine of us at this point and time."

Lantern shook his head and was not the least bit happy this but before he could make any comments, the Spartan looked at him and spoke in a tone that was both calm yet dangerous.

"We have a job to do Gunnery Sergeant, and we need to put the survival of innocent civilians before any personal feelings or objections. Right now, we all are the only chance Earth has so now is not the time to be picky on who's on the team."

Super-man nodded as well and spoke to Lantern.

"The Spartan has a point; we all have to work together, this is new to us all and to me, but we don't have much choice."

"Fine, sorry to you…Princess."

The Spartan nodded a bit as he directed his attention to what they had to do for the soon to come battle, he knew that Lantern was not happy with the situation of working with two unknowns which included him and Diana. And in truth he could not blame the man either, he would have reacted the same way, but he placed his duty to defend humanity first which was why he did not have any trouble working with others, unlike ODSTs who preferred to work with only ODSTs and worked reluctantly or even tensely with other members of the UNSCDF, him and his fellow Spartans included.

Flash then spoke to the Spartan.

"By the way, I wanted to ask, do you have a spare copy of her?"

John shook his head and Cortana once more borrowed the MJOLNIR's speakers and answered the young hero's question.

"No he does not speedy, I'm the only one of my kind in existence and I am in no mood to be taken away from my Spartan."

"Drat!"

Lantern sighed but knew that both the Spartan and Super-man had a point as he spoke to the heroes while the Spartan was now next to him.

"The way this might work is if we split into teams to handle the multiple objectives we have to deal with, that way we have a better chance of being able to take them down. Going as a full force would not be a good idea since we're going to be visible to the defenders and we will end up in a serious slugging match with the enemy."

The Spartan got into the data and Lantern spoke to him.

"Anything you want to add to this plan Chief?"

"None, the plan's very solid Gunny, usual fire team pattern, glad to see your service to the Green Lanterns has not dulled your Marine training."

The former Marine had to shake his head a bit, as it had been a while since he had heard the usual nick name given to Gunnery Sergeants of the Marine Corps. John then spoke to Cortana as he reached a small holo-still that was updated to provide a much larger picture, this time he allowed the others to listen in between them."

"Cortana, can you use the Clarions and Black Widows to give us an idea where those factories are in their assigned areas?"

"Roger that Chief, they're realigning right now."

The others watched the flat piece of technology as a full 3-D map of Earth appeared and already the effects of the alien invasion.

Hawk-girl then spoke to the Spartan.

"How did you get these images?"

"Let's just say that we have our own eyes in the sky, now's not the time to be asking questions though…here."

John pointed to one factory location in Egypt which happened to be deep in the desert and apparently well away from civilian areas and having only two Walkers guarding it.

"This factory in Cairo is newly established and not yet fully defended, if there is a weakness that can be found on them, it would have to be here if we cannot use the gas that J'onn had with him."

Super-man then spoke to the others.

"Lantern's plan is the best we have, now we have to decide who's going with who."

Flash was quick to reach Diana and replied much to the woman's surprise.

"Dibs on the Amazon."

Diana had no idea what Flash was saying but the Spartan could easily see that the Amazon was not used to this and Flash's forward nature was no doubt going to make things a lot more complicated than they had to be. Not to mention the fact that he knew enough about royalty in his history lessons that what Flash was doing was going to be seen as an insult to a member of royalty, and having witnessed Diana's abilities via satellite, that was asking for trouble.

"I believe that's the Princess's decision on who she's going with on her mission, not yours Flash. Besides as an Amazon, I have a feeling that Princess Diana is not used to being around men and will take offense on what you are doing, so hands off. And you can guess how her people will react if they find out. Just a friendly warning by the way, take it or leave it."

Hawk-girl smirked at the look of worry on Flash's face as he moved away from the female Amazon somewhat at the warning given by the Spartan, though he smiled a bit more and replied that he can work something out. Super-man shook his head but saw that everyone was in the mission now and while this was a completely new situation even for him, it was time to move out.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's notes:

This is the latest chapter as of the moment and it's not too bad in most cases nor too good either since I have been having some rough patches sleeping, which might affect my concentration. But at least it's a good start at any rate.

Now before anyone starts asking me if I have watched the series, then the answer is yes, and I have been looking at it carefully to make sure that I am making my work to be as accurate as I can, though I have no doubt that there will be errors at some point in the story. But to me that shows that I am not perfect and I do make mistakes like the next man.

Now on topic of what will happen next, I will try to do my best with the time frame I have before moving out from my home and living out there without internet. This is why I decided to add this chapter to the story to make sure that it is already a well placed story since it has some good qualities.

I also hope that if I get the chance to go back to town, I will download any chapters I have made in my time into the internet and post it here via USB so that means I will not be entirely dark for the next few months that I will not be around. But considering distance, time, and expense, it might be a while before I can do that.

There is good news and bad news, the good news is that I will still be around for a while longer as the architect on the project requested that until the budget is solid, my family can remain on our property. The bad news is that the demolition will still go on so I will have to move either way. So if you have any other concerns that you want to send my way, then feel free to do so while I am still in my home and getting ready t finally pack up and head to my new place.

…

Now as you might have guessed, there is some similarity here in the confrontation between Cortana and John Stewart, but it's not as pronounced. And I have no intention of having an antagonistic relationship between John-117 and John Stewart for two reasons.

First, John-117 knows that Stewart is in the military and the Marines so he knows that GL will not be happy working with unknown people, which equates to Diana and him. This is a natural response for the military as even he and Cortana did not get on the right page when they first met. It was only after working together for a long time that he and Cortana truly became the team they are and John has absolute faith and trust in Cortana.

He feels the same way as Diana will eventually prove herself to be an ally and this will be all for the better. And as such he feels that as soon as GL sees him as an ally, then that is even better for everyone involved.

And the second is that John believes that duty comes first before any personal feelings or objections as I had stated in the story. When the enemy is battering at your gates, and threatening everything you hold dear, now is not the time to allow your objections and prejudices to get in the way of doing what needs to be done. That is the reason that even if he knows that Green Lantern does not trust him fully, the Master Chief is willing to work with John Stewart since they both have a common goal and a common enemy to fight.

But don't expect the two to be chums right off the bat either, Marines and Navy have been known to antagonize each other, both in a humorous fashion and less than humorous fashion as well.

…

Now I have no plans to have John-117 and Hawk-girl in a relationship, why? I like the Green Lantern Hawkgirl romance more as it works well. Of course they will have some conflict like anything else, but I will make sure to give the a good chance of being in a more developed relationship. However, I will state that the Master Chief WILL play a pivotal role in said relationship at the end of the story and in the beginning as well.

I'll leave you readers to figure that out for yourselves, theories are welcome, flames are not.

…

I also wanted to point out that if I do decide to place John and Diana into a relationship I need to know just who you readers have in mind to be Bat-man's significant other in the event that I have the Spartan and the Amazon hook up. That should not be too hard to do since Bruce did have some other relationships that have potential to become a lot more serious in the long run. As to who the woman should be and how exactly does the relationship become something more, I will cook something up, or you can suggest to me how.

I will make sure to give some back story to the possible relationship to blossom if I do decide to allow John and Diana to be in a relationship with one another, and these will be simple stuff.

Though I will also allow the Spartan to open up to other members of the League as well, though who that will be is entirely up to me as well to be more balanced at the very least in terms of story and development. And if you want me to make any changes to the story, make sure to tell me before you send those requests all right?

However, I am also thinking of having John help turn some former villains around to the side of good, who those are is up to me.

…

Also, I will have to make some villains who will make up John's own gallery of enemies, who those are will be up to me, some original characters who become John's sworn foes through chance or circumstance, or have developed a vendetta against the Spartan,. Or already established villains who are not part of any of the heroes' gallery who have potential to be deadly threats but have not been given enough back story and depth to reach their potential.

Now they would not be at the level John has faced, but never underestimate the strength of a fully motivated and determined enemy for any reason or you'll never be able to regret it later on..

…

At any rate, I will take my leave as I plan to make the next chapter to put a close to the Secret Origins line of the Justice League story. This way I can say that the prologue stuff, at least in my mind is put to rest so I can relax a bit. Also I will include the scene where John's true history is revealed and we will see just how the others will react when they see the full life of the Spartan from his childhood, to his arrival to their world and what he and Cortana hope to accomplish before joining the League.

Dose John plan to leave eventually, or will he decide to stay and help defend this universe and maybe…even settle down?

That remains to be seen.

…

I do plan to update my Naruto fics as well as some of my Halo works as well, and expect me to state when I am going to go dark before that happens.

Anyway, I wish you all a Happy Valentines and hope that unlike me, you guys get lucky.

Bye!


	4. Chapter 4

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own either DCAU and Halo so don't ask me if Ido all right?

Chapter 2

Part 2

Die? Don't you know? Spartans do not die.

(): Thoughts

…

John looked at J'onn and gave his own decision on the matter.

"I'll go with J'onn on this mission, he knows the enemy so I need to get all the data needed so there's no way to get entangled into one serious mess."

Cortana then spoke as she took over the MJOLNIR's speakers once more.

"Since I have no other place to be, I'm with John on this one."

Diana smiled a bit at this and decided that she could go with the Spartan, besides, these invaders were new to her and she needed to learn all that she could to make sure that when she did face them she would not be caught off guard. And with J'onn being the most knowledgeable about them

"I will go with you two as well, I too will need to know who these enemies are and how to beat them effectively."

John nodded and that was when batman also spoke to the three."

"I will go as well, if there is anything in that factory that can be useful to weaken the invaders, then I'll need to see it."

The Green Lantern did not like the situation and spoke to the group.

"You sure that you guys want to take that risk, out of all of us, counting the…A.I you are the largest group here. You might attract too much attention with the enemy the minute they see you."

The Spartan knew that he had a point but he decided to state what was the situation thus far.

"This will not be a problem, Princess Diana and I happen to be unfamiliar with the invaders like I am so working with J'onn's a better choice. It would be a mistake to not know just who your enemies are and what they can do. Besides, since you two don't exactly get along well Gunny, better that we avoid conflict this early on. Batman would also be a good choice since his strategic skills are very accurate."

Lantern could see that the Master Chief was not going to budge on the matter and truth be told, he was a bit relieved as this was going to keep him fully focused on the mission. Naturally one of the other heroes was not too keen on it.

Naturally the hero in question was Flash.

"Aw man, and I wanted to be with the Princess."

Lantern sighed and grabbed the speedster and replied.

"We're in the middle of a mission speedy, now is not the time for distractions!"

It was not long before the others were now out on their own missions, Superman was with Hawkgirl and they headed for Metropolis, while Flash and Green Lantern headed off to the jungles of Malaysia. This left John alone with J'onn, Bruce, and Diana, as he decided to get into contact with the Dawn and asked Cortana to send down one of the Pelican Drop ships that Cortana had installed optical camouflage cloaking to render it harder to detect by regular means.

The transport arrives and Batman looked at the vehicle with some level of surprise as the vehicle appeared from thin air and landed before them.

"What is this?"

"Pelican Troop-transport, I'll save the technical details for later, this is a better choice but you can have you're fighter trail us if you want it to."

"I'll do that."

As the back area opened, the Spartan moved in and was followed by the others, as soon as he got into the cockpit to pilot the transport manually, Diana moved to the cockpit and looked at the controls with a great deal of surprise at what she was looking at.

"By Hera…"

"Princess, I believe it would be best that you strap yourself in for now."

"You can call me Diana, since we're allies there's little need for formalities between us."

John turned and powered up the Pelican and when it took off, the Bat-jet naturally followed as the Spartan engaged the cloaking mode and guided the Pelican. He did this well and spoke to Diana.

"I prefer that we try not to go that far just yet Princess, you do not have a code name or a designation that I can use instead of your real name? Not to mention calling you princess might attract unnecessary attention if we are in the field already."

"Code-name? May I ask what that is?"

"It's a name used by people in order to avoid their real identities from being revealed to the public, that way it gives them some measure of protection. I use Batman when I am fighting crime and the same goes for Superman and Hawkgirl."

Diana listened to that from Bruce and shook her head.

"I do not go by any other name except Diana for a long time now."

Cortana then replied.

"Don't worry, you might get your name in the 'man's world' as you call it soon enough."

…

Flash was currently running over the ocean at high speed, something that he was more than able to do while he was being supported by Green Lantern. Their chosen target was the factory located in the jungles of Malaysia. However, the hero of Central City was not the least bit happy with the situation as he had actually been hoping for the chance to be with the Amazon beauty, instead he got stuck with the strict and by the book Green Lantern.

"You are no fun!"

Green Lantern likewise mentally sighed at having to work with Flash but he was not in the mood to argue and spoke back.

"This is not supposed to be fun! We've got a job to do and we're going to do it better with no distractions! Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya"

(Man, I was so hoping to be with either that Amazon Princess or even that female A.I, she was something else all right.)

…

As soon as they arrived in the battle zone, Lantern allowed his military training to kick in, there were at least several walkers in the area, at least three from what he could them out was going to be a simple part but there was no telling if the aliens had placed traps and ambushes around the factory and he did not want to take any unnecessary risks.

"That's our target, now listen up, here's the plan…"

Flash however, being the speedster that he was, did not want to stay still and replied.

"What plan? We go in and kick their butts, let's get this over with."

Before Lantern could argue, Flash moved ahead and the former Marine could not help but sigh once more, it was like dealing with fresh faced Marine recruits with too much energy and too little brains all over again.

(Why did I even bother?)

He watched as Flash got the attention of one of the patrolling walkers and dodged their weapons fire but soon stepped on what appeared to be some sort of trap. It was like a massive slime pit that quickly caught Flash and he was now being surrounded by the alien walkers.

"Fool!"

Green lantern quickly flew in as one walker was about to either reduce Flash to dust with it's laser or impale him with the foot as he spoke out.

"Hang tight hotshot!"

He quickly fired a focused beam from his ring that smashed through the leg of the alien techno-organic machine and sent in crashing down as he flew over Flash. The speedster gave him a sheepish look and spoke out lamely as well.

"Uh…I'm sort of stuck."

"I can see that. I hope the others are having better luck than we are."

…

In Egypt…

John was currently using his optical cloak module to scan the area, while J'onn was doing pretty much the same thing. He was currently carrying a new backup weapon, namely the Plasma based M90 CAWS as he could bet that this was going to be mostly close quarters fighting in there so bringing the Spartan Laser was not the best of ideas. However he stocked up on explosives as well as a set of Combat Knives.

Batman likewise was hiding near some of the ruins in the desert and managed to avoid the arrival of one of the alien walkers. However, Diana was not in the best of moods as the idea sneaking about was not very welcoming in her Amazon mindset.

"Hiding like cowards is not the way of people!"

"They must have a weakness, when we find it, then we can strike."

The two turned as John and J'onn appeared, with the Spartan deactivating his Stealth module and the Martian phasing out of the ground and appearing before them.

"I have scouted the area and there seems to be no openings there that are visible."

"I agree, we're going to have to make our own to get into that factory."

Diana then spoke.

"Then I will make one for us."

Diana quickly took off and was about to be stopped by J'onn and by the Spartan but Batman shook his head and replied.

"No, let's see what she can do."

The three watched as Diana avoided the attack and took out the golden rope that she had with her and quickly lassoed the legs of the alien walker and surrounded the rope around the machine. The Spartan was surprised somewhat and the same could be said for J'onn and while Batman remained stoic as before, he was also impressed by what he was seeing before him.

Once she was done, Diana spoke out to one of her people's patron Goddesses.

"Hera! Give me Strength!"

She pulled the rope taunt and after a second or two, the walker was soon off balance and smashed hard into the walls of the facility. The woman moved away from the ruined wall as well as the smoke and spoke to the three.

"Now we have an opening!"

Batman replied.

"Not bad."

The three of them moved out with John using his anti-gravity thruster pack to land next to Diana as she blocked several laser blasts from the aliens, he quickly took out the MA5C Plasma Assault Rifle and fired several bolts into the enemy, taking donw several of them easing the attacks on the Amazon and clearing a path for the others.

The aliens moved back but that was when the Spartan noted the extreme aversion the aliens had towards sunlight. That was something that he knew could be vital as Dian spoke to them.

"They run like cowards! What are you waiting for?"

Diana followed the aliens while J'onn was not far behind, John however turned to Batman and spoke.

"You saw the way that alien acted to sunlight?"

"Yeah, they're more than nocturnal if they acted like that."

As the two of them rushed off to join the others, John wondered just what was going on with the other teams.

…

In Metropolis…

Hawkgirl and Superman had some level of good luck as they were finally able to takedown some of the walkers. The Thanagarian was able to use her mace to make sure that the walker could not get up. Superman then used a karate style chop to cut one of the legs and used it to make a hole into the factory and he turned to call to Hawkgirl.

"Hawkgirl, follow me!"

The walked in and Superman told her to keep her eyes open, to which she replied.

"I always do."

It was not long before they came under fire from the aliens and Superman was about to handle it while telling Hawkgirl to stay back before the woman ignored him and charged in. The Kryptonian watched as the winged woman used her charged mace to bash the aliens around with considerable force, forcing him to duck when one flew overhead and was in a mess behind him.

"Whoa."

He turned as Shaeyra spoke while walking ahead to lead the two.

'What? There's a time for words, and a time for action."

…

Back in Malaysia…

Green Lantern was in a foul mood as he had finally freed Flash from most of the gunk that had held him captive and he had managed to do so while getting himself and Flash away from the enemy so he could free the speedster from the rest of the gunk. He was not happy on how the mission was turning out and there was the chance that they were going to have to pull back soon before things got really bad.

"Of all the boneheaded and reckless things to do…have you ever heard of the concept of teamwork?"

"Uh, maybe we should save the motivational speeches for later?"

As soon as he was free, the two tried to get back into the fight and while it seemed that they were finally getting somewhere, things took a turn for the worse. The alien walkers tried to take down Lantern's shield, but got nowhere until they fired a pod missile that released a powerful yellow gas that was some sort of tranquilizer drug.

The weakness of the Lantern ring came to play as the gas bypassed the shield and soon drove Green lantern to the ground in an unconscious state.

"GL!"

Flash reached the downed Lantern using his speed to make his arms move the gas away and saw that sticking around as more walkers came at them was a bad idea as he quickly got the unconscious Lantern and high tailed it out of there. Their mission was a bust and now they would have to hope that the others were doing a much better job than they were at the moment.

…

Back in Metropolis…

Superman and Hawkgirl moved deeper into the factory and the Thanagarian was tense, holding her mace close to her and she spoke seriously.

"They're close by…I can almost smell them."

Superman was not too comfortable with the way Shaeyra acted and asked the question that was in his mind after seeing her decimate the aliens.

"Are you always this eager to fight?"

Shaeyra turned and replied stoically.

"My home-world Thanagar is a war like world, there it's either you strike first, or you die."

Superman's reply to that was cut short as the aliens came back for more but they retreated, Superman wondered why but got the answer as the tunnel was suddenly sealed in front of him and Hawkgirl and then behind them. They were soon hit by gas, and Hawkgirl was down as she was trying her best to recover from the sudden release of gas in the room.

"Hang on Hawkgirl;! I'll….AAAAAAGGGGGG!"

Superman's attempt to rip open the door behind him was cut short when massive amounts of energy were unleashed on him that forced him down, he was still injured and he too was soon overtaken by the gas.

…

The group was moving fast and hard as the Master Chief took point and provided heavy fire as the MA5C Plasma Assault Rifle was easily killing the aliens. The plasma made nearly effortless work on the alien forces as they screamed in pain at the burning power of the plasma bolts. This was what made them focus on taking out the Spartan, marking the Spartan as a priority target. That was a bad move on their part and John was more than willing to make them pay for it.

Diana was not standing by as she used her bracers to block the shots of the aliens to render their attacks weaker, but she also did the same thing as before to send the laser bolts right back at the shooters.

Batman was not alone either as he took out a special type of fist weapon that unleashed powerful blasts of electricity that allowed him to damage the ones who he was able to attack while also using special explosives loaded batarangs to attack his own targets. J'onn also used his ability to be come intangible and invisible to ambush the aliens and take them down.

But no matter how many times they fought through the aliens and their ambushes, the aliens continued to move in and attack the group, trying their best to herd the four heroes to a location that would be to their advantage.

John quickly looked at the formation and fired several more shots when he finally got the warning that the power cell was empty and he needed to reload quickly, Diana came in and blocked the attacks that were being thrown at the Spartan as well as the others but she was not pleased by the rapid approach of the aliens.

"They've cut us off again!"

"It's like they already know just where we are."

Batman spoke out as he readied a batarang and fired it at the enemy as it's explosive payload forced the aliens to break off and avoid being attacked. John likewise fired his plasma MA5C into several aliens, killing them as they screamed in intense pain as he quickly took out the spent power cell and quickly reloaded the new power cell as he replied.

"This entire facility must have some sort of built in security grid system we can't physically see but they can interface from, that's probably why they know where we are while we're floundering about."

Cortana then spoke to the others.

"I'm picking up another force heading our way; we have to get to the core quickly before we're going to be surrounded."

Diana agreed with the A.I and readied herself to cover the others but she knew that only J'onn could help them as he knew their foes better than they did.

Batman thought the same thing and turned to J'onn…only to find that the Martian was currently still and his eyes were glowing in a strange fashion, confusing Batman briefly until he shouts in order to try and snap the Martian out of whatever it was that was.

"J'onn!"

The glowing in the Martian's eyes faded away and J'onn spoke.

"Superman and Hawkgirl are down, they have failed in their mission."

Batman was surprised at that and so was Diana.

"What?"

"Are you sure about that J'onn?"

"Yes, but they are alive, no doubt the invaders plan to either torture them or feed on them."

The two heroes were disgusted by that and while his face was hidden by his MJOLNIR, the Spartan gave a frown as that made him recall the sight of the Flood Infection forms taking over living beings as well as reanimating the dead. He placed such thought aside as more aliens came at them and J'onn led them to another series of tunnels saying that the core was in this direction. Diana and J'onn then moved up another tunnel while he turned and fought off the aliens that came out from another chamber.

He soon followed batman as Diana covered their retreat as they moved into another room, the Amazon looked behind them and came back.

"We've lost them."

"For the moment we have."

Batman switched to using a pair of knuckles that released high strength voltage for close combat while John took out his M90 for the close quarters bit as J'onn called their attention.

"We're here."

The group turned and there was a cavernous room that had a number of the aliens moving about and using control panels and what appeared to be some sort of chamber holding a large crystal inside what appeared to be some sort of gestation tank.

"This is the central core of the factory."

Batman then spoke to the Martian as he could see that this was going to be the best place to finally take down the factory for good.

"How do we take it down?"

"The crystal there in the chamber is the Ion Matrix Crystal, that is the heart of the factory and also the source where they can create the ion cloud itself. Removing that should shut down the factory and compromise it. I will need a distraction."

Cortana then replied to that.

"Don't worry, one distraction coming up!"

Batman and the Spartan made their moves with the Dark Knight using a batarang to cut a nearby pipe that unleashed a wave of black fluid on the aliens underneath it, the Spartan tossed a pair of Frag Grenades in rapid succession and sent several of the aliens flying while Dian ripped out another cable, causing gas to hit the aliens.

This was enough for J'onn to move in by phasing to the location, while Batman, the Master Chief, and Diana were under attack, the Amazon blocked the attacks while Batman came in his usual way and used his taser weapon for the kill. John fired his plasma shotgun while in flight going down and supported the Dark Knight

J'onn reappeared near the crystal chamber now that the distraction was in full effect, he took out the alien nearby and quickly retrieved the crystal. The effects were quick as the factory began to shake and malfunction, but not before he was shot by one of the aliens. The last Martian was sent down to the ground and lost his grip on the crystal.

"J'ONN!"

Diana flew to his location after defeating her foes and when she got there, Batman shouted to her.

"GET HIM OUT! NOW!"

John and Bruce quickly moved to get to the two as Diana lifted J'onn and flew to a nearby tunnel area. Batman quickly used his grappling gun and moved over to get the crystal while the Spartan covered his back firing his shotgun all the while. However one the aliens quickly accessed the door controls and before the two men could make it, they were sealed in.

Batman used his taser to try to break through while John used his Shotgun, but it was not going well, the two turned and saw the aliens coming at them.

"This is not good."

John however was not giving up just yet as he reached for something in his pack quickly.

Diana was stunned at the fact that both batman and the Spartan were not behind them and she rushed back, shouting their names.

"BATMN! SPARTAN!"

She however stopped as the sounds of laser fire came out and soon silence.

"NO!"

Horror filled her at the fates of the two men and she tried to help them but was stopped by J'onn as he recovered from the injury he got.

"No, there is nothing we can do for them."

"By Athena… you don't mean that they are?"

"Gone…"

J'onn's sad look was heart breaking to Diana as she looked at the door and spoke.

"Hera…help us."

…

Unknown to Diana, the two were not gone just yet as John pulled out a Bubble Shield right on time and J'onn had shielded the two from being detected. They would be the key needed to win this war and as long as the enemy thought them dead, then they would have a chance.

Batman looked at the shield with a great deal of surprise as the bolts of the laser weapons of the aliens bounced off the glowing hexagonal patterns that apparently made up the shield.

"What is this?"

John however reached for his Plasma Grenade as well as a fully primed Napalm Grenade.

"No time to ask, get that crystal and get ready to move on my mark!"

Batman did just that as he readied himself as the Spartan soon tossed the weapons. The blasts of Napalm and Plasma had terrifying effects on the aliens as they were screaming in absolute pain and were forced to retreat from the two as Batman took the crystal and followed the Spartan who was at point. That was what John hoped for as he and Batman moved out of the area. The Spartan knew now that the two were alone but he was not going to give up as they needed to get the crystal.

As they got to the a nearby room, John took out some of his C-12 sachets and wired them together and placed them on the wall.

"How powerful is that?"

"C-12 has enough power in it to bring a whole five story building down, but is hard to handle, so get ready to leave the place."

Batman nodded as he looked about just in case the aliens attacked while the Spartan placed the sachets on the area that they needed to escape from. Cortana then spoke to the Master Chief as well as batman.

"I've run an analysis and the C-12 should be enough to bring half of this place down."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, whatever material these aliens use on their structures, it's not meant to take a serious pounding so the C-12 is more than able to deliver, couple that with the crystal being in our hands, we have a better chance of bringing the house down."

Cortana's predictions were right on target as the charges blew up and the two heroes were out of the building, and then they turned, the whole factory went down hard, or at least half of it while the other half suffered considerable structural collapse. It was here that some of the aliens were forced out into the light, they quickly screeched in fear as they sought cover.

As the two looked at the panicking aliens, Batman was quick to note the reactions of sunlight on the aliens' bodies, he was quick to come up with a viable answer on why was it that the aliens were suffering severely in sunlight.

"They are vulnerable to UV radiation. That must be the other reason why they take great pains to avoid being exposed to the sunlight, and why their factories block out the sunlight one they landed on Earth."

Cortana then spoke using the MJOLNIR's speakers.

"I have to agree there, if they're vulnerable to UV radiation to that level, then removing the cloud cover is our best bet but destroying the factories would take too long and we could be fighting for a long time once their main force hits the ground. The best chance we have is to somehow reverse the effects of the factories."

"Yes, since the crystal we have is the one that allows them to make that ion particle cloud, reversing it's function should remove the clouds and give us a much better chance."

The Spartan then spoke to Batman.

"Do you think that can be done?"

Batman nodded.

"I have the technology in my lair, but it will take me some time to get the process right."

"Good, I'll head back to Metropolis and see if I can't hook up with the others and support them until you complete what we need to do."

The two moved quickly and silently with John noting Batman's stealth and evasion skills, placing him similar to his old comrade Soren who was by far the most dedicated Spartan when it came to stealth and evasion. When Soren was in the woodlands of Reach, finding him was nearly impossible. Soren was one of those who survived the augmentations but was deformed and badly crippled. However, John had a negative relationship as he was aware that Soren had actually sided with the Insurrection…The ONLY Spartan II who willingly sided with the very enemies they had been called upon to fight. That was why he never spoke of Soren and neither did the others.

As far as he was concerned, the Soren and the others trusted died long ago and the deformed one that bore the name was long gone. Though he was never found, John doubted that even Soren's skills could save him when Reach was overwhelmed and Glassed.

He placed that train of thought aside as they were able to evade the aliens and soon make it back to their respective transports, Batman naturally used his jet while he used his Pelican and as soon as he was away, the Spartan spoke to Cortana.

"We're going to have to get ready for anything Cortana, anything from the scanners?"

"Yeah, the Clarions have spotted a massive object heading this way. Judging from the scans, and despite it not matching any ship profile I have on record, I can safely bet that the main invasion force is already on it's way here and no doubt they have their head honcho with them."

John looked at the incoming image and he nodded in agreement, the ship was large, there was little doubt about that, but it was nowhere near the same size as the Dawn and so far, the aliens seem hell bent on getting to Earth at a fairly quick pace. No doubt the reason was that they needed to secure the Earth quickly and hold it as there was not that many of them.

"How soon can the Dawn attack the ship?"

"Not much I'm afraid, the Dawn can take it out, but we should not risk losing the element of surprise, besides, if Batman's plan works, then we can take them out and also deal with the leader of this invasion the very second he or she or it or whatever is out in the open."

John nodded and decided to go for close combat weaponry since as far as he had seen, the aliens were not that durable and the Energy Swords were going to more than enough to deal with them and while he would have used his MA5C Plasma variant as it proved very effective, he knew that he needed to fight in close quarters so while he kept the MA5C on his back, the Energy Swords were his best choice though he decided to take with him the Spartan Laser this time around.

…

Back in Metropolis…

The city was in utter pandemonium, as people rushed about the police, fire department, and hospital services were doing their absolute best to keep things in order. But they were fighting a losing battle as the more radical elements in society were taking advantage of the chaos. While the invaders had halted their actions and focused more on securing the area around their factories, they had made sure to send out recon teams every now and then.

The military were doing what they can as well as the police and the SCU, but their weapons were not very effective in fighting the aliens and this was not the same as with the Darkseid invasion as the aliens were able to take solid hits quite well though not to the level of super-human strength. And with the riots going off at full swing it was utter chaos.

Diana could not help but feel sickened at the sight of the people breaking down and turning on each other like this. Instead of working together to defend one another and fight the invaders with their military, the people turned on one another, looting, rioting, and more.

She and J'onn had gotten back from the mission in Cairo and she had been saddened by the loss of both Batman and the Master Chief, unaware that both of them still lived and that J'onn had secretly used his telepathic powers to shield the two from the enemy.

She found Batman's skills and tenacity as admirable, while the Spartan's strategic skills, fighting prowess, as well as his manners and respect to her were just as admirable. She also missed Cortana as the A.I was a very good person even if she was indeed nothing more than a construct.

(She was more human than machine.)

She looked on in disgust as the scene played on before her and spoke.

"I cannot believe that they are like this, maybe my mother was right, mankind is not worth saving."

(I cannot believe that Batman and the Spartan gave their lives to save such people.)

J'onn replied to that.

"Do not judge them harshly, they act out of fear and confusion."

(I hope that mentally shielding the two will work, they're abilities and skills will be critical in saving this world.)

It was not long before they were joined by both Green Lantern and Flash who had recently helped the police to try and keep order. Green Lantern was naturally the one who spoke.

"Sorry about being late, had to help rescue a number of civilians."

"Why'd you call us back anyhow?"

"Superman and Hawkgirl have been captured and are currently held in that factory over there."

Flash quickly noted the absence of the others and spoke.

"Where are Batman and the Spartan?"

J'onn was silent and Wonder Woman was saddened at the mention of the two men and J'onn replied.

"They fell as heroes."

That shocked Flash and even Green Lantern as they knew that things were getting really bad. However they had little time on their hands to grieve for the two as J'onn told them that the Imperium, the governing intelligence that led the invaders was already on it's way to the planet's surface. They soon broke through the outer defenses and made their way to Superman and Hawkgirl.

But something bothered J'onn at how light the resistance was and his fear proved tru as it was a trap. The ones they thought to be Hawkgirl and Superman turned out to be invaders and they were soon knocked out and unable to fight.

…

Outside…

John was quick to arrive back in Metropolis still armed with the Stealth Module and moved out to try and locate the others while avoiding enemy patrols in the area before him. He soon spotted Batman and quickly de-cloaked next to the hero.

"Did you succeed?"

The Dark Knight nodded but he was very much surprised at how the Spartan had actually managed to sneak up on him like this without him noticing. That was another question that was going to have to wait for the time being as he knew that they had to d something.

"Yes, but we have no time to waste here, this device should be the key to removing the cloud cover that they use for their invasion to finally be a success. But I need to connect it to the crystal to have any effect."

"Then let's go."

The two made their way to the factory with John using his Thermal scanners to locate the others, they kept out of sight as best they could, hoping that the shield was going to be enough until they could get within striking range. The two of them soon spotted the others and John quickly used the audio scanners on his MJOLNIR to listen in just as the alien impersonating Carter appeared.

"Earth's mightiest heroes…welcome."

"So you're finally here, the one who took Carter's place back on Mars when you woke up."

"Oh, you know who I am now? I am curious who told you that…no matter, you're all too late, this world will fall and soon all of you will feed the Imperium."

The Spartan and the Dark Knight spotted the alien vessel above and spotted what appeared to be some sort of shuttle move away and enter the base itself. There the two spotted the Imperium, it looked like a massive violet jelly fish with black matter inside of it. The Spartan and the A.I recalled the meeting with the Gravemind and while they were not keen on seeing that again, they ignored it.

They had a chance to kill this alien right here and now, so they were going to do what they could.

The two heroes turned to see J'onn being tortured by the Imperium but they were close already and Batman readied the explosives he had, until John decided that a more permanent option was there as he took out his MA5C and focused it to fire a massive blast of plasma.

"Get ready!"

The second he fired the weapon and bypassed the shield of the chamber, the Martian lowered the shield on the two of them and they were revealed to the aliens and the other heroes.

"Whoa! They're alive!"

Flash was relieved while Diana was amazed that they were alive.

"How did they make it back from certain death?"

"I shielded them…so they would not be found!"

Batman quickly laced the device through the now weakened section of the shield and placed the device on the crystal, activating it. Soon the crystal's red color changed to blue and the fluid inside of the chamber turned blue as well

The Carter doppelganger was shocked and shouted at what was going on and made that clear to the Spartan and Batman.

"What have you done?"

Batman replied in his usual fashion of being stoic and clam before the odds that were there.

"Reversed the ion charge."

The leader of the aliens quickly shouted two simple orders to it's minions.

"DESTROY THE CRYSTAL! KILL THEM!"

John looked at Bruce and spoke as he knew that he might want to switch to close combat work.

"You free the others, I'll keep them off your back."

Batman quickly used his grappling gun and moved to the others as the newly altered fluid continued to spread through the factory systems.

The Spartan quickly moved and slid down as lasers were fired at him, he evaded the ones that he could while a stray bolt managed to hit his shields but did not compromise them as the Spartan began to focus himself. As soon as he was half way, he grabbed the two Energy Sword handles as he leaped down in a graceful spinning flip. The people and aliens in the room heard two loud hisses like cobras facing a large hunter.

The Spartan landed and before several of the Imperium soldiers could react, they were cut down by the Spartan as he placed his now fully ignited Energy Swords on top of one another blade to blade. This was not his style but he did get training on how to use psychological intimidation as a weapon. He played that hand to the Imperium and it's followers as he spoke.

"You want to kill them?"

He moved the blades over each other, creating the sounds of clashing thunder as well as unleashing large amounts of sparks due to the plasma and magnetic fields creating electrical charges that resulted in arcs of lightning as he now had two Energy Swords on either side on him.

"Get past me first."

The Spartan wasted no time and quickly ran towards his foes, using a special transfer protocol from the Mark X to feed energy to the Energy Swords to make sure that they were at maximum charge. His speed was incredible at this distance as he quickly cut down three of his foes with a sweeping action of his swords in two different directions. Their bodies fell down in halves as the enhanced plasma that was now deep white due to the increased power cauterized the wounds easily.

Three tried to fire their lasers, but the Spartan quickly evaded the attacks and slashed the two into halves and drove one such sword down on the other who tried a futile attempt of blocking the attack with it's organic laser rifle. The weapon was rendered useless as the Energy Sword cut through it like it was butter, and the same could be said for the alien soldier as he was cut into two halves without even time to scream.

The Master Chief moved like a shadow as several attacked him en masse and had morphed their hands into blades in an attempt to match the Spartan. Not the best of moves as the Spartan quickly made short work of them. One was cut diagonally from hip to shoulder from the left. Another got stabbed into the chest and was cut in half as the Spartan moved the Energy Sword away to cut the arms and the head of another alien.

The next got a powerful kick that stopped it cold in it's tracks and beheaded by the Spartan, who side stepped another attack with inhuman speed and ease as he stabbed the alien in the back while moving his whole body over his foe, ripping the creature into two pieces and landing hard on the ground as it were to slam a powerful kick into the stomach area of another alien, sending it flying back to splatter on a wall with deadly speed.

The Spartan then cuts down two more aliens while blocking several laser shots from three more of them. He spotted them and quickly rushed the enemy slamming into one of the shooters like a battering ram from hell and sent it flying back into a wall with an even louder splat being heard. The two shooters barely had time to react as the Spartan moved cutting one from the crotch to the head with one sword and cutting the other from head to crotch with the other Energy Sword.

The Spartan moved to the side to avoid an ambush attack by three and cut them down before they could react. He turned as three of the same dog like aliens came at him, one attacked in a leap to which the Spartan reacted by cutting the creature in half at mid leap with one Energy Sword, the second got kneed in the stomach and sent flying away while the other got sliced in half by the Spartan as he dodged it's attack while lashing upwards with an Energy sword to cut at the stomach area. The last recovered and attacked but the Spartan dodged it and slammed an elbow into the back to send the creature down and he introduced his foot HRAD into the head, making the sound of a rotten watermelon being smashed by a hammer heard in the place.

The Spartan cut down four more easily and moved to place the Swords aside for a moment, this was a ruse as one alien tried to attack with both arms in blade form, the Spartan caught both arms and then ripped them off the alien while introducing a shoulder charge into the alien, sending the creature back as he tossed both arms into the next pair. The first was disoriented and that allowed the Spartan charge it and smash a fist into it's head and before it could react, the Spartan introduced his other fist into the alien and then tore him into two halves, then taking both Swords in hand charged the recovering one and placed hands forward, one in the chest and the other in the stomach, the creature looked to the armored male in front of him, only to hear both blades reignited and pierce through him as the Spartan cut him into three separate pieces in moments.

The aliens roared and attacked once more, one tried to attack with it's arms in blade form, but John ducks and smashes into the attacker with a charge as he then used motion to flip the alien over his body and off of it's feet to hit the ground and followed with a stab of the other Energy sword moment before the alien could hit the ground, impaling it as it screamed as the white hot plasma cauterized it's body, the Spartan cut down another attacking him as he pulled out the other sword and stabbed two at the same time.

Three more fired lasers at him as he quickly dodged them or blocked them with some level of skill as he moved in before they could react, he cut their weapons as well as them diagonally and soon directed his full attention to the rest of the aliens who were stopped as they looked at the Spartan who had just slaughtered a large number of them. John noted that and decided to taunt them a bit, though taunting was not in his nature.

"Is that the best you've got?"

That angered the aliens as they charged right at him as John replied in kind as he began to charge at them once more. The slaughter began once more as the Spartan moved with terrifying speed in close quarters, hacking, slashing and stabbing at high speed as he was surrounded on all side, combing his use of the Energy Swords with kicks, elbow strikes, shoulder charges and also some high jumping moves as more aliens fell to his attacks.

Six came at him as he cut down the first two easily bypassing their attacks on him and stabbing the next in the chest, he spun the other Energy Sword in a wide arc, cutting the next alien in half while pulling the other Energy Sword out and stabbing the fourth attack and then stabbing the fifth in the same area. He kicked the sixth, stopping it cold, and before the alien could react to the Spartan's next attack the Master Chief quickly uses his Energy Swords to cut off the arms and then cut the alien in half.

Three more who had morphed their arms into blades came at the master Chief, he side stepped the first but not before stabbing it in the back with one sword and impaling the second as it tried to attack him as well, he then cut both foes and slashed off the blades of the third attacker as those proved to be worthless to the alien as the white hot plasma cut through them with ease and he launched a powerful kick that sent the alien who now lost both arms away with enough force to literally tear it into two different pieces..

The battle between the Spartan and the aliens continued as they were being ordered by the Imperium to finish the Spartan off and slay the heroes so that they would no longer be a serious threat to it so they could overpower the shield and destroy the crystal as more and more sunlight began to fill into the location, forcing the aliens to back down, John then used his shield manipulation abilities in a fashion that was similar to the way a Green lantern used his or her ring as he created an arm made of energy that held the Energy Sword and used it to cut down several more foes from the distance before he pulled it back and was back to fighting fast and hard to give Batman the time needed to free the others.

John knew that even he was soon going to need help as more and more of the aliens were coming and soon they were going to be a major problem even for him to deal with alone, plus J'onn needed help to put an end to the Imperium once and for all.

…

Batman looked at the battle as he worked on freeing the others, the Spartan's actions proved to be the key as the aliens did not attack the Dark Knight of Gotham as they were being kept out of the fight by the Spartan and the shield that was on the converted ion crystal stopped the aliens from destroying the crystal. While he was freeing Diana first, he turned to see just what the Spartan's situation was and he could see the Spartan continue to hold his own and fight in ways that defied the conventional train of thought that one would have when seeing one wearing such armor.

(That is no ordinary armor.)

The rest of the heroes were also deep in their perceptions of the battle as the Spartan continued to take down more and more of the aliens while J'onn continued to drag the Imperium into the light as it's skin boiled and bubbled, making the leader of the invasion force shout out more and more screams of pain as sunlight ravished it's form.

(How the heck is he moving that fast?)

Flash thought as even he was having a hard time following the Spartan's attacks as the master Chief cut down more and more of the aliens as if they were moving too slowly. Sure he was fast, but he was not that fast in close combat situations where space was at a premium as it were.

(He looks like he's not even struggling to fight, it's almost like he's been doing this for ages.)

Hawkgirl was not lying as she knew how to fight with hand to hand as well as with weapons, and she could see that the man was not just skilled with guns and heavy ranged weapons, but melee weapons as well, and it was like he had been trained in how to use them for a very long time.

(This guy is dangerous.)

Lantern thought as he had never seen anything like this before in his career both as a Marine and as a Green Lantern. The way the guy moved and fought was too powerful and precise to be human, yet too fluid and natural to be a machine. He could be a cyborg but most cyborgs like Metallo were not as fast or powerful as this guy.

(This Spartan lives up to the name. How did the military keep him a secret for so long?)

Superman watched the way the Spartan moved, and he could hear the man's heart beat and breathing, there was no rush, there was no panic or any of the usual sings. This man was fighting like he had been doing this all his life, like it was as simple as breathing and eating to him. What sort of battles did this man of if it was even a man fight in to be this skilled? He was no pushover, but there was a precision in the Spartan's way of fighting that made him seem more of a brawler than a seasoned fighter.

(By all the Goddesses. This man fights like he was born to fight…he must truly be descended from the Spartans to be this good.)

Diana was impressed by the way the man fought, smooth, efficient, effective, and deadly, it was like a dance of battle before her. She had been trained by all the of the best trainers in the arts of war on Themyscira, yet this man fought like fighting was bred into his body and blood. She was very much amazed by his skills and that was something as she was an Amazon and had been taught by the best.

…

The reversed ion charge was now in effect as the factory unleashed beams of light out into the sky as the clouds that held the world under a cloak of darkness began to move away and reveal the sunlight once more. The end results were there as the aliens quickly sought cover and those currently fighting the Spartan pulled back, allowing him to use his MA5C Plasma Rifle to shoot the aliens, J'onn also managed to free himself from the Imperium's grasp and drag the creature into the daylight.

The alien screamed in pain as the Martian taunted him while holding it's tentacles which had originally been in his own body.

"You hide underground and shun the light! Why? Does it burn your pale putrid skin?"

The alien screamed in pain as boils and steam came out from the alien leader as more sunlight fell on it, much to Flash's disgust as he spoke.

"Now that is a major case of super strong sunburn!"

It was not long before the heroes were able get into the fight, Superman managed to get a charge from the sun of earth and used his heat vision to free himself and he quickly tore off a large section of the floor and raised it as a shield to allow Bruce to do his work and he held it up. Just as Batman finally Diana, Superman freed Hawkgirl with his heat vision as well, she in turn freed Green Lantern, with her mace Diana then freed Flash as the Speedster was now on the move to attack the aliens as well.

The other heroes joined in as Hawkgirl used her mace, Flash his speed, Diana her strength, and superman his own strength and heat vision that tore apart sections of the building to expose the creatures to sunlight.

John spotted three other aliens moving to attack Stewart and he quickly pulled out a spare Combat Knife and shouted to Stewart.

"GET DOWN MARINE!"

Stewart did just that out of reflex and saw the Combat Knife sail over his head and impale itself into the rifle of one alien and that made the weapon malfunction and exploded, blowing the alien up and allowing him to block the attacks with his Ring's energy in shields and quickly used said shield like a battering ram t send them back. He turned and nodded to the Spartan as John quickly went back into the fight as he blocked another barrage of attacks and cut down the incoming threats..

Cortana then spoke to him.

"JOHN! SHOOTERS ON YOUR SIX!"

The Spartan turned, only to see the Diana in front of him using her bracelets to block their attacks and send them right back at their shooters, the Amazon Princess turned and spoke with a slight smile.

"Now we are even."

John nodded as he fired his weapon yet again while Diana, Superman, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern took to the skies, ripping out holes on the building and ripping off sections of the walls to expose the rest of the aliens to the sunlight. It was here that the Imperium managed to free itself from the pain of the sunlight by shocking J'onn into releasing him and he escaped, leaving the Carter double to die along with the others.

Diana spotted that and used her lasso to hold the ship down and keep the leader of the invaders from escaping, Superman was able to defend J'onn alongside the Spartan who used his Assault Rifle to do the most damage alongside the Kryptonian's use of heat vision. But the alien ship fired a beam at Diana, forcing the Amazon to block it and allow the aliens to escape.

Hawkgirl however came on the scene and used her mace to stop the ship, allowing the fully recovered Amazon to catch the rope once more to prevent the Imperium from escaping just as a doorway was revealed from the alien mother-ship. Diana yanked hard on the lasso and dragged the being back just as the Spartan came up to the plate and took out his Spartan Laser and aimed at the ship just as Hawkgirl began to attack once more.

The Spartan fired the beam and it quickly caused considerable damage to the vehicle just as Hawkgirl's next strike was the final deathblow. The Imperium screamed in fury as it's vessel was sent smashing into the factory and nearly crushing Batman but Flash saves the Dark Knight at the last moment.

The factory was about to blow and the heroes went to work saving the people trapped inside the same pods the aliens used, with Green lantern carrying them in a bubble while the others flew out of the now destroyed factory. The cloud cover was gone and it seemed that light was filling Metropolis once more. However the alien vessel was now trying to escape no doubt abandoning it's fellows and hoping to avoid facing the fate that claimed it's leader.

Diana was angry at this and spoke out.

"Those cowards are fleeing!"

The idea of letting these aliens escaper without a fight was a big insult to her, after knowing what these aliens did to other worlds, including J'onn's own world she was not going to let them escape without being punished for their crimes.

John thought the same thing and spoke.

"They are not leaving this world just yet."

It was were that Cortana called in the cavalry as she sent down a fully armed and shielded Pelican. The ship came in and surprised the others as they saw the vessel, John decided that with time against them, landing the Pelican was out of the question as they needed to move now. Lantern then spoke out as he was able to guess from the design, appearance, and color scheme of the vehicle that it was a military gunship/transport but there was no way that he knew what it was.

"What is that thing?"

The Spartan replied simply.

"Our ride."

The Spartan moved and quickly used his anti-gravity pack to fly to it and as soon as he was onboard and secured, he turned to the others and spoke calmly.

"You guys coming to see this through?"

Diana wasted no time as she flew towards the Spartan and into the vessel that he commanded and as she boarded the ship, the Spartan noted her unsteadies and helped her get into the vessel. This earned a smile from the Amazon and John made a nod as he spoke.

"You'd best strap yourself in, this trip in space is going to be a ride."

"I understand."

Hawkgirl wasted little time herself as she flew in and was soon joined by Superman and J'onn. Flash and Batman were airlifted to the Pelican by Green Lantern as John placed his hand on the nearby holo-tank and Cortana was soon downloaded into the Pelican's database and she spoke to the others once they were in the back from a nearby holo-tank.

"All right people, strap in, I'm locking down the Pelican for a trip up to space."

Flash was surprised.

"You can do that?"

The A.I grinned and replied.

"I can do a lot of things Flash, now hang, on, this ride is going to be interesting."

The back was soon locked down and the Pelican unleashed it

's engines on full burn and was soon streaking up to the atmosphere. It was not long before they were all in space and John quickly kicked in the Pelican's built in anti-gravity system and the Pelican was soon going after the alien mother ship, the group of heroes got up from their seats and looked as they pursued the aliens. Flash then spoke.

"Are we actually going to board that ship like in those movies?"

The Spartan replied to that calmly.

"Normally a boarding action would be a wise idea, but not today, the Dawn is here right on position Cortana?"

The heroes were confused by that and Diana was about to ask what that meant when three glowing blobs of plasma came out from nowhere and smashed hard into the alien ship, causing considerable damage to the ship and rocking it as plumes of fire came out. That had caught the heroes by surprise as Lantern spoke.

"Where in the hell did that come from?"

They got their answer as a massive vessel appeared, it was a warship by any standard as no exploratory vessel looked that heavily armed and armored. Nor was an exploration vessel made to look like a massive floating cannon/fortress. The Spartan guided the Pelican to the vehicle bay and quickly entered the warship.

…

In the Dawn…

Once the Pelican landed and the heroes disembarked they spotted the Huragok moving about along with the Constructors as the Spartan moved to the bridge with the heroes following them after he got Cortana back into the MJOLNIR to transfer her to the Dawn's bridge.

Flash looked at the vehicle bay and saw all the Warthogs, Scorpions, Mongooses, Pelicans, Hornets and more. He could not help but be impressed by this and spoke out to the Spartan.

"My God! You've got enough vehicles here to field an army!"

John shrugged and Stewart had to agree and as much as he was trying not to show it, the Marine in him was itching to try and get a chance to try one of these vehicles. The massive four wheeled trucks with the massive chain guns, missile turrets, and the wicked looking cannons were impressive along with the Tanks along with all other vehicles that he could see so far.

The other heroes were taking it in carefully as they followed the Spartan while the Chief led them to the command bridge of the Dawn. It was here that Superman spoke to the Spartan as he looked about the ship, which meant that the Kryptonian was using his regular vision and his X-ray vision.

"Where is everyone on this ship?"

"No one is here Superman."

That made J'onn speak with some level of surprise on how that was possible.

"Then who is flying the ship?"

Cortana then spoke to the others while using the MJOLNIR's speakers.

"That would be me, or rather a copy of myself."

That surprised many of the heroes as Diana spoke to the A.I as she now appeared after the Spartan downloaded her into the Dawn's datacore.

"You can create copies of yourself and command a vessel this size Cortana?"

"Oh yes, and these are just basic abilities I have, you should see me when I am really going on all cylinders Diana. But we can discuss that for later, for now we have an alien vessel to take out."

The Spartan sat on the bridge and quickly was in his element as he quickly guided the Dawn to fire a barrage of missiles at the enemy vessel, it responded with laser bolts of it'sown but those were blocked by the shields. Cortana then gave her report to the damage.

"Shields are still at maximum power Chief, now I think it's time we end this."

"I know, ready the MAC Guns, three slugs each."

Hawkgirl was surprised by that and asked the question.

"What's a MAC Gun?"

The Spartan answered while not taking the eyes off the target.

"That stand's for Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, essentially it's a coil-gun that is able to propel a 600 ton metric ferric- tungsten slug with a depleted uranium core at least 30,000 meters per second. That is the standard ship to ship weapon this ship has though we have three of them this time around instead of the standard one"

Lantern was surprised by that and spoke to the A.I

"You've to be kidding! 600 tons?"

"Yeah, shame we could not have a Super MAC on this ship."

Superman was already surprised by the specs on the MAC and was curious about the one known as the Super MAC.

"Why the name?"

"That one is called the Super MAC or the Big Stick for a reason, it can fire a 3,000 ton ferric-tungsten slug at the speed of 12,000 kilometers per second. One hit from that is estimated to be equal to 51.6 gigatons of TNT going boom. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a firing solution to make."

The heroes were silent though Superman and Batman, along with Green Lantern were still in shock at the information. It was here that a number of alien fighters came towards the Dawn, no doubt intending to fight off the warship from destroying their last chance to avoid utter annihilation, there were a horde of them but John was not bothered as they had some weapons to answer that well enough.

"Cortana, can you send out the Longswords and the Sabres on an interception course?"

"Got it, I'm powering up the defensive weapons systems as well, just in case these guys get too nosey."

Batman was impressed at this.

(Not even HARDAC was that capable, controlling androids and computer systems is one thing, but this is at a whole new scale.)

Cortana grinned and spoke.

"Running a firing solution to take out an enemy vessel, commanding over a dozen each of two different combat craft, running a warship, and using the point defense guns at the very same time, now this gets rid of the boredom I had recently in the right way."

That surprised the others as Flash was even more impressed as he spoke.

Man now I really wish that I had a copy of her."

The battle was more than enough to be considered a heavy duty battle as the Longswords and the Sabres that Cortana commanded were more than enough to hold their own against the alien fighters. The two fighter classes were expertly piloted by Cortana to the point that they moved as if they had human pilots instead of an A.I commanding them. It was not long before the alien fighters found themselves in a very deadly bind since while they did outnumber the fighters of the Dawn, they were not able to match the fighters well as both fighter classes were more than effective in space borne combat.

The fighters that did break through were quickly cut down by the weapons on the Dawn that reduced them to burning ruins as Cortana was able to accomplish all this with little to no worries thus far.

But as soon as Cortana gave out the coordinates and the green light, the Spartan fired all three cannons at once, unleashing nine of the MAC rounds into the alien vessel.

The impact was devastating as the alien mother-ship was literally torn to shreds by all nine rounds hitting the vessel hard. The ship's armor plating was easily peeled off like an onion and the areas where the slugs hit were exploding fast and hard. Soon the alien vessel was reduced into nothing fragments that continued to burn and float in space and no longer resembling anything that was a vessel.

The seven other heroes looked at the carnage with silence until John turned from the command chair and replied.

"Now that the alien mother-ship is out of the picture, there's little escape for the ones left on Earth, time to go back down there and finish cleaning up the mess."

That was when Green Lantern spoke.

"Hold it! There are a lot of questions here that need to be answered. Who are you people? Where did you get this ship? And where did you come from?"

John however was not budging and replied.

"You'll get your answers soon enough, and not before, until then we have work left to do."

Superman then spoke to the Spartan at this point.

"I have to agree here with Green Lantern, there are too many questions here that have to be answered."

The Spartan looked at the Kryptonian and replied.

"And you will gain those answers, but until every trace of the enemy is gone from Earth, Cortana and I will not say anything else."

Seeing that the Spartan would not relent Superman nodded.

"All right then, we'll wait for your answers when you feel that you can share it with us."

Cortana then replied.

"I'll have a Pelican readied to transport the rest of you down, we'll be right with you once we make sure that there are no leftover surprises out there from the enemy ship. The Chief and I went though a lot of trouble getting this Frigate fully repaired so getting it damaged again is not something we'd like."

Hawkgirl raised an eyebrow at that.

"You call this behemoth of a ship a Frigate?"

"Yeah, though a heavily rebuilt and modified one, we'll talk all about some other time all right?"

…

The few weeks that came after the destruction of the Imperium mother ship was a heavy cleanup operation for the heroes and they were going to have to deal with the remaining cells of resistance. Without any reinforcements from the rest of their kind, the stranded aliens were forced to fight for their lives and attempt an escape. Those actions proved to be very difficult to accomplish as the Dawn patrolled the outer area of space and would immediately drop on them the very second that they made it to space.

The heroes were seen all over the place as the media was following them the whole time and as much as John did not like the idea, he was now being followed around by the media from other companies and even from other nations. He hoped to keep himself out of sight, but the aliens never made it easy to say the very least.

Along the way, Diana was able to get a name to hide her real identity, and that name was Wonder Woman, the people called her a wonderful woman for her helping many people and she was more than willing to use that name, Cortana herself approved of it and this allowed Cortana and Diana to become friends to some degree as the A.I helped coordinate key battles for the Heroes both from the Dawn and on the field.

The people were very happy as the last of the alien forces were forced off Earth, but not everyone was convinced that there was no chance that something like this was not going to happen again. This was listened to by Batman himself and he already had a very good idea as to how to ensure that this would never happen again.

…

In deep space…

The massive space station that was flying over Earth was currently being occupied by both Batman and Superman and the Kryptonian spoke to the billionaire crime fighter from Gotham about the station while looking down at Earth itself.

"Impressive, your stockholders don't know about this Bruce?"

Batman merely nodded and replied.

"It's a bit of a line item in the Waynetech aerospace R&D budget so it's strictly off the books for the duration. This can serve as an early warning system area and also as a base of operations."

The two turned as both Flash and the newly codenamed Diana were walking towards them with Styrofoam cups in hand as the speedster spoke in a very amused voice.

"And it's got very well stocked kitchen, Iced Mocha?"

Superman sighed a bit and shook his head with a smile.

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself."

As for Diana she was still getting used to the taste of Mocha on her tongue, she found it to be a totally new and different experience as she spoke.

"Mmmm, we don't have these in Themyscira."

Flash grinned and replied to that.

"Stick with me Princess, there's a lot more you have to see."

"Perhaps I will."

Flash grinned at that and the two other heroes in the room were also somewhat thankful. They were soon joined by Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl, the former Marine then spoke to the two heroes.

"This is an impressive installation. Very impressive, but I get the feeling that there is more to this than just showing off this place."

Superman nodded at that and looked at Earth and as soon as he gathered his thoughts, he spoke to them.

"I once thought that I could handle defending the Earth by myself, but I was wrong, working together we saved the planet and more. That's why instead of working separately we can work together as a team to become a force that can help ensure that the ideals of justice and peace are better protected."

Flash was amused and walked over to the Kryptonian and spoke.

"Work together, like a bunch of Super Friends?"

Superman smirked a bit at the humor there and replied.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a Justice League."

Flash smiled even more and replied.

"You have any idea how corny that sounds?"

He however then turned to face the others in the station and spoke.

"But I think big guy here has a point, working together is a lot more effective and with all of us behind, it can definitely be a good thing. Count me in."

Flash placed his hand on Superman's own as Green Lantern and Hawkgirl did the same thing with the Green Lantern placing his hand over Flash's own while Hawkgirl does the same thing with the two of them showing their willingness to give this idea a chance.

"I'm in."

"So am I."

Diana looked a bit conflicted and then spoke.

"My mother would not approve of this, but Man's world is very interesting to me, very well, I am in."

The Amazon Princess placed her hand on Hawkgirl's own and then they turned to Batman who was looking at the whole thing while being apart from them with Superman spoke to the Dark Knight.

"What about you Batman?"

Bruce replied in his own fashion.

"I'm not much of a people person, but if you need me, and no doubt you will, call me."

"I understand."

"Hold up, where's J'onn?"

They found the Martian looking at a console where the image of Mars was, the alien retained his calm façade but Superman could see that the Martian was not the least bit calm and he could understand just why the Martian looked that way to his now devastated home-world.

"J'onn?"

"Mars is dead and gone now…and I am the last of my kind anywhere."

"J'onn, I know that none of us can take the place of your family at all, but we would be honored if you were to call Earth home."

The Martian looked at the Kryptonian and smiled as they shook their hands, and as they came back to join the others, Flash then asked an important question as he had a feeling that the seven of them were forgetting something or rather someone.

"By the way, what about the Spartan? Doesn't he have a stake in this as well?"

The others nodded as well and Batman spoke.

"I've tried looking for his ship but it seems to be well beyond anything that I can use to track ships, despite it's massive size."

Wonder Woman then spoke.

"But he and Cortana helped us in the battles as well as the cleanup, so we should at least present him the same chance to join this League."

Hawkgirl nodded as she replied.

"I agree with Diana here, but we are going to have a heck of a time since he's pretty much vanished from sight, along with the ship as well."

Green Lantern then spoke as well.

"I've tried to look for him too, but I had little luck, I can guess that he wants to keep himself hidden for now, if he does want to meet us, then he will do it when he wants to."

That was when J'onn spoke to the others.

"We might not need to look for him, he is already coming here."

The others looked and sure enough there was the very same Pelican Dropship that the Spartan had used to ferry them to the Dawn moving towards the Tower. Batman went to work in readying the Hanger bay to allow the Spartan to enter the Watch Tower. Once that was done, the seven of them made their way to meet the Master Chief and soon they found him as he got out of the Pelican.

Diana smiled warmly at the Master Chief and spoke.

"Chief, we were just talking about you."

"Yeah, where exactly did you and Cortana go to anyway?"

John looked at them and replied.

"Sorry about that, but Cortana and I were busy tracking down any more of the escaping alien ships, making sure none of them come back. She's currently back on the Dawn overseeing some of the recon satellites and making some routine checks and maintenance on the Dawn. What exactly was it that you all talking about?"

Superman then spoke.

"We have a proposition that we wanted to discuss with you."

John thought it over and replied.

"I believe you can ask me that later, I am here since there is something that Cortana and I have to discuss with you all as well."

Batman then spoke as he had fairly accurate idea on what was it that the Spartan was going to say.

"You're going to tell us exactly where is it that you two came from and who you both are?"

"Yes, and the Dawn along with Cortana have all the data and proof that you will need to see, which is why I am asking you if you don't mind coming to the Dawn."

The others agreed and soon they were in the Pelican and were now out of the Watch Tower which was now on system lockdown. Once they were half way between Earth and the Moon, a glowing portal appeared to the surprise of the League and out came the Dawn.

John turned to them and he replied.

"The Dawn's armed with a Slipspace Drive system, something that will be explained once we're onboard."

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Now there we go, at least that is one chapter that is in the completed bin, and thankfully I will be able to rest and relax a lot more this time around. If you have read my previous author's notes, I have stated that I have not left my home yet so I will be around for a bit longer so I decided to send this chapter ahead as well as the other one to make sure that I added a bit more content to this story as well before I do get the message that we're pulling the plug on my old home.

But to be honest, my old home is starting to creep me out a bit, not that it's haunted or anything, more like when we take this house apart, the structure is getting less stable if you get my meaning. But at least we're getting there, the budget for tearing down the place is not large enough yet so I will be here I while longer, so when I do leave my home for good, I will make sure to tell you all so you will now.

…

Now with that out of the way, I will get back to the story…

As you no doubt saw, the Spartan has finally decided that the kid gloves are off and he is no longer restraining the full extent of his skills as well as his abilities. And as you have read, Cortana's new abilities are more than enough to make up for the fact that she is the only one of her kind in the DCAU universe. The Dawn will be taking some more active roles soon enough in the continuing parts of the story when I make my plans and have the time to do them all.

Just so we're clear, the Dawn WILL play a role in the soon to come Thanagarian Invasion, and here's another thing I forgot to mention, I wrote there that John received some biological enhancements that were used by the Forerunner's elite soldiers, which after reading new material were the Prometheans, the highest ranking Warrior-servants of the Forerunners. I am not sure how I will play it out, but they will soon be used by John on some critical areas, and these can be special aces in the hole when John faces foes that are not the regular kind.

Whether that applies to Gods or whatnot is up to me, I can always find an alternate solution after all.

Also, I would like to point out that there will come a point that John will have other effects in the DCAU universe. One that I can reveal is when we have the episode 'Paradise Lost', this may become a pivotal point where the relationship between Diana and John might become a lot more serious. As to how that will play out, that will be my call. But you can bet that there will be a chance that he might also have an effect on Hippolyta and eventually Donna Troy as he WILL meet Diana's mother and sister as well in some point of the story.

How will Hippolyta and Donna act towards him? That will be worth looking at no matter the outcome I suppose.

Cortana likewise will be there to help in key battles, both in the battlefield itself, and when dealing with the situations John will find himself in that does not involve taking out enemies, instead might involve taking some people out and how to socialize to some degree. Naturally John will still be working with his civilian cover though it will be a while before the League finally find out just who the Spartan really is when they get the chance to go to New York.

…

Apart from Diana, there are still potential partners out there, but obviously Lois Lane is off limits, I like her relationship with Superman already so I have no plans of changing that. The same with Hawkgirl. John will also travel in his own missions independent of the League and this will allow him to rub elbows with other DCAU characters, all of whom will be in the League soon enough.

Those chapters will soon be made so don't ask me about them too much as they are still pretty much in the development stage and naturally some of the heroes will have neutral or friendly relationships with the Spartan. Some of the said heroes will also happen to be female and may develop a relationship with John to be fair, but it's not going to be all flirty either, some will be professional and others are more of the kind that are due to helping them in tight spots.

How those will occur is up for development.

…

The next chapter will be dealing with John revealing his origins as well as Cortana's own history. I will try to shorten it so it won't dominate the whole story and leave me with some room to organize things for the other chapters. You can bet that seeing the UNSC history as well as the UNSC-Covenant War will be a very somber and shocking experience for the heroes and it will also show to them just what made the Spartan the man what he is before all of them.

I will also include the Flood as well and you can bet that seeing the Flood in action will not be the least bit pleasant.

Will this history be revealed also to the others apart from the League, that will remain in the planning area. I have seen the movies of the DCAU when it involves Wonder Woman so I will have some elements there so the Amazons will also be in it as well so expect things to get interesting.

…

That is it for now and I hope that it will be good for all the readers here.

Send me your reviews and comments, make sure to avoid sending me flames since I will immediately toss them aside.

See you on the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Halo or DCAU so let's leave it at that okay?

Chapter 3

Origins…

( ):Thoughts

…

In Space…

The seven members watched as they approached the Dawn as the UNSC/Forerunner hybrid warship was being piloted by Cortana who was currently running some outer space scans to make sure that there was no more possible attack being launched while the world was recovering from the invasion of the Imperium.

As such the Dawn served to keep any more escape attempts by the Imperium forces that were still present on Earth, many of them were ruthlessly hunted down by Cortana and John when they attempted to flee, and while some DID manage to escape, they were only allowed to do so by Cortana to make them remember never to come and attack Earth ever again. With their leadership dead and most of their factory/bases wiped out the remaining pockets of Imperium resistance were hunted down by the Master Chief as well as the now soon to be founding members of the Justice League.

It was still a sight for many of the heroes, Superman had seen many ships in his time, both small and large, yet this was one ship that proved to be a real mystery, and he was hoping that apart from convincing the Spartan and his A.I companion to be part of the League.

Batman himself was still trying to figure out what he could of the Spartan himself, there were still too many questions about the man as well as his A.I companion, along with the technology that they had with them and the firepower that they had on hand. While the two had helped in fighting off the invasion of the alien Imperium, he still was wary.

The two placed those thoughts aside as the Pelican landed in the Dawn's vehicle bay and once the Bay was given atmosphere and gravity, the newly assembled Justice League were disembarking and followed the Spartan, though this time he was taking them no longer to the command bridge of the Dawn, but tone of the planning rooms that the Dawn was known to have as well as all UNSC ships for both space and ground operations.

…

The Master Chief thought over carefully how he was going to explain his origins to assembled heroes. This was something that he was not too comfortable with, but he knew they deserved answers. As he moved to the planning holo-deck used for tactical planning on the Frigate, he pressed a few keys on a key pad and out came some chairs as he faced the seven heroes.

"You'll have to excuse the accommodations here, the Dawn's a warship so it's not meant for the need of creature comforts."

"We sort of figured that out on our own several weeks ago."

Superman replied as he and six other heroes sat down as John moved to the other side and soon Cortana came online from one of the nearby holo-tanks. The A.I grinned at the heroes and spoke to them.

"Nice to see you all are here, by the way, how is the sight of 'man's world' for you Diana?"

The Amazon smiled back at the A.I, in truth she was getting used to the A.I being around, even if she was indeed a 'program' and not a real person, she found Cortana to be as real as any being. Plus she did find her humor to be rather refreshing as it were as Cortana was more than willing to trade discussions with her.

"It's been good thus far Cortana."

"I see…well, as much as I would like to catch up on this matters Diana, you can guess that there is a reason John and I asked you all to come here."

Batman was sure that there was one and replied.

"I suppose you're going to tell us who the two of you really are?"

The Spartan nodded as he decided that he should at the very least remove his helmet, something that he swore he would not do unless there was something of great importance. Before he would commit to that however, he spoke to them.

"We will, but what you will hear must never leave this ship and make it's way to Earth, I am already taking a great risk and breaching protocol for even divulging it to you."

Flash then replied.

"Why is that? It's not like anyone will believe us that easily."

Cortana sighed and replied.

"Just because the organization we belong to does not exist here in this universe is not an excuse for either John or I to talk about it freely, unless it's needed."

As soon as the others thought it over and gave their agreement that was the signal for the talks to begin in John's mind, and the signal for him to reach for his helmet.

That surprised the seven as John decided that he should remove the helmet. He did so and they all heard faint hissing from the helmet. John was soon assured that his helmet was unsealed and he removed his helmet and placed it down on the holo-deck, allowing the seven to see his face.

The seven saw before them a man who appeared to be around his early to mid twenties with pale skin and strong features, there was not an ounce of fat anywhere as there was a small curving scar at the corner of the Spartan's right eye that made it's way down and ended in mid cheek. His eyes were deep blue and had a faint glow in them, they shone with strength, confidence, pain, courage, triumph, tragedy, and endurance.

The male heroes could see easily that this was a veteran fighter easily while the two female members saw things a bit differently

Wonder Woman saw that and she saw his eyes had the same color of her own and she could see a hidden story there at the calm yet intense way the man looked.

Hawkgirl herself was a bit surprised and slightly intrigued at the look, though she also felt some level of caution. He seemed calm and collected and the idea of what he would look like if he was angry and showing those same eyes was not a pretty picture.

John then replied.

"I am Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, Spartan II Commando of the United Nation Space Command Defense Force, Navy."

That announcement surprised just about every one of the heroes with Batman being the first to comment.

"Wait a minute, the UN can't possibly have such an organization. This ship alone would have cost the world three to six times the annual global income!"

Cortana then replied.

"That would be true here in this universe Batman."

The others were surprised and Superman recalled an incident where Lois had traveled to another reality where she had died and the version of him had taken a far different path in maintaining peace.

"You mean that?"

John nodded as Cortana spoke as she was better in this field while he gathered his own thoughts on how to address some key issues on that he would have to say to the heroes.

"We come from an alternate reality which is why we are using technology and systems that do not seem to be the same as the ones that are used here in this ship."

The group was silent at this until Flash spoke.

"Whoa, alternate realities? I've seen some crazy things, including what we fought with for weeks, but you have got to be joking about the alternate realities right?"

Superman recalled what had happened to Lois at one point where she went to a world where she was killed and that world's Superman allied with Luthor in his grief and had done some pretty bad things ever since. He was surprised that it happened but that at least told him that what the Spartan and his A.I was saying was not too farfetched.

"It's not too farfetched; a friend of mine was transported to a place like that where they met another version of me."

Batman was well aware of the events that Clark spoke of since he usually kept tabs on Superman every now and then, even more so after the incident with him being brainwashed by Darkseid.

"That one you're referring to is a parallel reality; an alternate reality is where some events are the same as our own but change in a different direction."

Green Lantern nodded at that and replied.

"Stuff like that is known even to the Guardians of Oa, some even say that there is a reality where some of the best organizations like the Green Lanterns were tyrants instead of heroes."

Cortana nodded at that and replied in a solemn tone.

"The Galaxy is vast; its wonders and beauty are almost unfathomable. But the galaxy also hides dark secrets, some of which have lain dormant since the beginning of time itself. There is a danger in secrets, both in seeking and in knowing. Some things are meant to be hidden from view. Some mysteries defy understanding, and sometimes even the things we think we know are untrue. Some secrets should remain untouched."

That was a bit unsettling to the others until Superman nodded in agreement.

"I have to agree with Cortana, sometimes some of the things I learned in my trips in the Galaxy scare even me."

John then replied.

"We have told you the truth in this regard as we would gain nothing by lying about it, in fact we hope that you can help us find a way back home."

Hawkgirl raised an eyebrow at that.

"Us?"

Cortana nodded at that and replied.

"Yes, we heard that you had some contact with some organizations that dabbled in inter-dimensional travel such as STAR Labs, we were hoping that if possible we can ask for your aid in getting anything we can to leave."

Batman however was not feeling too open about the idea.

"Even if you have told us where you come from and what you need from us, there is a matter of trust. Granted that you helped save the Earth from invasion, but we still don't know a great deal about you. For all we know, you could be advanced elements

Diana was somewhat shocked and offended by the accusations Batman gave to the Spartan and made that point rather clear.

"How can you suggest that? If they truly were alongside the enemy then they would have attacked us the very second that they appeared."

Batman however replied calmly.

"I am not saying this out of either ignorance or disrespect; we don't anything about them or their origins so it's natural to be cautious."

Cortana smiled a bit and replied.

"There's no need to get worked up Diana, Batman does raise a valid point, truth be told had the situations been reversed, we'd think the same thing too if we met you people. But that is the reason why we brought you here to begin with. J'onn since you happen to be a telepath right?"

"Yes, and you want me to be a lie detector right?"

"Yeah you can use your telepathy to confirm if what John is telling you to be the truth since I have a feeling your telepathy works only on organics and not artificial beings like myself, but don't probe too deeply into John's mind, he might take offense to that."

J'onn recalled the battles and agreed.

"I shall do that, but only if the Spartan is willing to allow it."

John nodded and Cortana spoke as well.

"Well then, John will be able to explain a good number of things since he happens to be a student of history and I will fill in when some critical areas come up. But before we go any further, here are some things that separate our reality from yours."

Batman asked what those were and John replied.

"For one thing, masked vigilantes don't exist, Metahumans are non-existent too, the Green Lanterns do not exist either, Mars was never able to sustain life, Kryptonians were never around. And as much as I do not want to offend, the Amazons did not exist either. There are…alien races, but that can wait for a better time."

Batman noted the way the Spartan spoke of alien races and took a note of that.

…

Cortana began to show them the images that would show the full extent of the history of the UNSC, namely with the various organizations as John spoke, he knew that this was going to be the longest conversation he was going to have to make, but it was better to have it over and done with.

"You are all, with the exception of J'onn, Hawkgirl, and Diana, are familiar with the formation of the United Nations after the ending years of World War II, but there were a few changes as well. One of which was eventual development of hydrogen fueled engines and the development of clean and efficient hydrogen reactors. These advances helped release the world from the dangers of global warming as well as the need to use nuclear reactors for power. One could say that the Earth in our reality was now in what one could call the Green Energy Age."

The heroes who lived in Earth were impressed and Lantern made that clear.

"You guys developed cold fusion? In a few years time no less? That's pretty damn impressive."

John shrugged and continued.

"As space exploration progressed in the 21st century, colonization operations required international cooperation and assistance in order to effectively conduct territorial expansion throughout the Solar System. The International Society of Civil Engineers was formed at they year 2021, and this organization contributed immensely to furthering the quality of space engineering and travel by gathering all of the greatest minds from every country in the world as well as combining all the money and resources needed."

Superman nodded in agreement and spoke.

"One nation attempting to shoulder the costs in money, materials, and equipment would have suffered a great deal of backlash from the events if it failed."

The Spartan continued.

"National-conservative philosophies slowly made way for progressive, international globalization to take effect. An imperative change in worldwide government was necessary to accommodate space colonization demands, which the only global administration organization humanity could rely on - the United Nations - took initiative to lead. All existing national Governments lost their overall authority on a global scale, and it can be assumed that national militaries were, as well, absorbed by the international UN military forces."

The heroes who understood it namely Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern were flabbergasted at such a move and Batman spoke out.

"That is quite an achievement then, the UN here or rather the World Assembly would never be able to handle such an endeavor let alone convince all the national leaders to cede their military forces to be commanded by one organization."

Diana was naturally confused by that as she was unfamiliar with the way politics in 'man's world' worked and asked the question.

"Why is that the case? Don't they work to achieve the very same goals?"

John turned to Cortana and the A.I smiled, directed her attention to the Amazon and then replied.

"There are some reasons for that Diana, the UN does work for peace and unity, but they are required to reach their objectives by working alongside the laws of the nations they seek to operate in. If they needed to send medical aid to one nation suffering from natural or man made calamities, they have to work with the nation's government to get permission. The same thing applies to the deployment of military forces for peace keeping missions."

"Then how do they accomplish their goals if talking is all they do? How can they aid others when they spend time talking?"

"It's because they don't waste time, Politics is a dangerous game, always has been, one mistake and they not only suffer but so does their representative nation. Humanity has flaws since they are human, but one thing that cannot be denied is that there will be people among them who can learn and avoid making the same mistakes as before."

Once the heroes seemed satisfied, the A.I turned and nodded to John and that was enough for him to continue.

"The results that came with the formation of the new UN was the colonization of Mars."

"You made the planet habitable?"

J'onn asked with a great interest and the Spartan replied to that.

"Yes, but there was no sign of life on Mars that resembled your own J'onn as I stated that in our reality Martians did not exist. However it became a central part of the emerging colonies of the UN and Humanity in general. This was soon followed by the Jovian Moons."

"There no doubt conflicts in the expansion?"

Batman asked as he had no doubt that there would be those who would attempt to use this era of expansion for their own personal goals. The Spartan nodded at that and replied

"That is pretty much true as with the transition being made from Earth-based capitalism to post-industrial space capitalism, elements on the extreme fringe of the political left-wing saw a rebirth of doctrinal origin, and revolutionary ideas of change once again took the form of military organizations."

The images showed rallies and protests on earth and the colonies before the heroes, and along the way, they spotted images of men and women being trained and armed in secret.

"One of these ideological resurgences centered around Russian-born revolutionary Vladimir Koslov, who proceeded to form a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla armed force named after himself; the Koslovics. With a possibly Maoist or Stalinist undertone, the new group of communists aimed to dismantle capitalist systems and corporate power on Earth and in newly-occupied space territories, putting a particularly strong emphasis on liberating orbital installations and orchestrating so-called "workers' crusades," or armed campaigns against their foes on the opposite end of the political spectrum."

"The other was the exact polar opposite, and they were the Frieden. The Frieden military movement, based in the Jovian Moons and sponsored by corporate powers in the Unified German Republic, reacted once this upsurge of communism became obvious and Koslovic revolutionaries began attacking their infrastructure and companies there in the Jovian Moons. Drawing its philosophical origin from twentieth-century Fascism and National Socialism, the Frieden's ardent anti-Koslovism and anti-communism convinced them to adopt revolutionary ideals as well. Among their primary objectives was gaining corporate independence by seceding from UN colonial administration and establishing a self-contained Jovian state. Frieden propaganda claimed that in order to reach a peaceful (as their German name suggests) and independent Jovian nation, the UN, an advocate of internationalism, was to be driven out of the Jovian Moons and destroyed around the Solar System, including on home ground which naturally was Earth itself."

Stewart was not happy with the selfish and brutal ways that these new organizations and replied.

"So now you guys had to deal with Neo-Nazis and Neo-Communists that wanted to tell people to follow them?"

Cortana nodded.

"Oh yes…and they were not the kind to balk away from using less than gentle methods to accomplish their goals either. Naturally the UN fought back as they represented international democracy. These political tensions would soon lead to a final face-down between fascism, communism, and international representatives of democracy throughout various colonies, space environments, and national territories. The most serious blow was when Frieden forces attacked the UN Colonial Advisor detachments on the Jovian Moons and this naturally sparked the first of a series of wars between all three factions. They were not the only ones as Nations on Earth were now fighting proxy wars all over the system"

The images played from the Jovian Moons campaigns and the heroes watched as humanity fought one another in what was a bloody and no mercy or quarter fighting on the ground and in space as well, with John explaining the events.

"All this led to the most devastating blow that would haunt the Earth for years, and that was the Rain Forest Wars in South America. The land was filled with resources and naturally the Frieden and the Koslovics were naturally interested in getting their hands on them while the UN fought to keep them from getting it. However, it was a pyrrhic victory as the lands were utterly devastated with casualties reaching a great level in the infantry on all three sides."

The images were enough to make all of the heroes feel rather sickened.

John then continued.

"However, the critical victory came when the UN adopted the use of the old German tactic that was used in World War II, which was the Blitzkrieg or Lightning War, this is where large detachments of highly trained and elite Marine units were used exclusively for ship boarding actions and ground assaults. The attacks proved critical in what was known as the Argyre Planatia Campaign. The battles there proved to be a decisive win as the Marine detachments were able to severely cripple the Koslovics who had bases in those areas and that is why Marines became the forefront for all naval and planetary combat roles in what was soon formed as the United Nations Space Command."

John Stewart said nothing but a grin told anyone who was looking what he thought of the news of Marines being the premier fighting force of the UNSC.

The Spartan then carried on.

"Naturally this had been the end of the war as both the Frieden and the Koslovics formally surrendered with the signing of the Treaty of Callisto ironically in the Jovian moons where it all started. This marked the victory of democratic leadership and the UNSC forces. And this also started the formation of a single Earth governing body known as the UEG or the United Earth Government."

Superman saw the wisdom in that move.

"It would be the wisest move, the devastation of the war meant that no one country could repair the damage alone."

"However, the marks of the war were felt as massive overpopulation, famine, and a large military with now enemies to fight plagued the Earth and it's inner colonies for some time after the signing after the year 2170. It took at least two hundred more years until the development of the Shaw-Fujikawa Slipstream Space Drive or what is also known as the Slipspace Drive. With the development of the Slipspace Drive and the launching of the first Phoenix-Class Colony Ship the Odyssey along with many other ships of the same class, Mankind began to reach out to other worlds to settle in and terra-form if needed. In that time, the UNSC selected only the best of humanity for the colonization effort and gave them all passive genetic enhancements to overcome any possible difficulties and challenges in settling on new planets."

The images soon showed the ships enter the very same glowing blue portals that the Dawn used to arrive on site.

"I believe Cortana can handle this part of the discussion."

…

Cortana nodded at that and took over for now while J'onn was able to read the Spartan to confirm the stories as he too held memories of those said events.

"By the year 2490 the Human race led by the UNSC colonized and controlled over 800 hundred world with 500 becoming the Inner Colonies, serving as the economic, cultural, and political house with the Outer Colonies being the sources of goods, foodstuffs, and more. The people who made up the Inner Colonies were those who were meticulously selected by the UNSC for initial colonization efforts and had received passive bio-engineering enhancement for their work so they represented the 'elite' of Humanity as the best mental and physical specimens"

"Wow…you think Humanity here can do the same thing?" Flash asked, utterly impressed at how far Humanity in that reality had carved a huge path in the universe.

"Only if they are willing to take the challenges as well as the dangers. That path is filled with many dangers Flash, some of them can be closer than one would suspect"

John replied in a calm fashion.

"No doubt the expansion caused many problems?"

J'onn asked as he had a feeling that like the wars between the Frieden, the Koslovics, and the UNSC, this era of expansion carried dangers of rebellion as well.

Cortana nodded at that.

"You are correct, it was not long before discontentment and ideology would rear up in the Outer Colonies. The reasons were the slow and often short bureaucratic practices by some of the governors of the Colonies that caused a great deal of tension and disquiet. Originally it was with peaceful protests and rallies, but after years of little results, some groups decided to use more radical approaches, or rather terrorist tactics and leaving diplomacy behind."

"Their support quickly faded when they took the use of terrorist tactics but that didn't mean that they didn't get support from more hard-line members of the colonial community from both the Outer Colonies and even the Inner Colonies."

"So how did the UNSC respond?"

Batman asked as Cortana replied.

"They tried diplomacy at first but decided that with the terrorists methods of the rebels now known as the Insurrectionists were not to be taken lightly and stepped up military operations. However while initial attacks with weaker cells proved successful, the more organized and funded Insurrectionist cells began to adapt and use not just improved explosives ordnance that were difficult to detect by the UNSC and black market weaponry, but had used coordinated piracy to acquire ships to make their own fleet and also vehicles and other machines. They also developed a sophisticated intelligence network that even infiltrated UNSC HIGH COM and into garrison worlds like Reach which was the hub of all military activity for the UNSC and served as the garrison world of Humanity before Earth was next."

"In order to fight the Insurrectionists in a more effective manner, the officers and agents of the Office of Naval Intelligence or ONI resurrected a previous attempt by the Colonial Military Authority to create super soldiers using military grade bio-engineering enhancements. Though the original project was a failure, it had garnered enough attention to be resurrected and named the ORION Project or better known as the Spartan I Program."

The League turned to John and he replied.

"I was not part of the Program, I was however part of the program that came after it."

Cortana nodded as she continued.

"The members of Project ORION were all military volunteers who gained a number of enhancement and whil they were subject to ONI's Section III Beat % Division for Special projects, they were under the overall authority of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command. The volunteers were the best of the best from the Marine Corps and other Special Forces units in the UNSC and had undergone extensive training as well as enhancements that included augmentations for the muscles, the heart and lungs for more energy in combat, improved hearing, improved sight range, and improved brain enhancements for higher learning skills and thinking processes."

Lantern was not quite pleased with that though he could see the logic in the program.

"So they were the first super soldiers of the UNSC?"

"Yes and in initial operations, they proved invaluable and over the years their group grew from 65 to at least 300 and rumors of their existence were used by UNSC Propaganda to help boost the war effort to get more colonists on their side. However, it was not easy as the Insurrection, despite suffering severe blows from the ORIONs and the UNSC were not easily broken and the ORIONs themselves suffered not just from the stress of battle but from side effects of their enhancements, After their last operations and their subsequent disbandment they were sent back to their previous forces, but they were still released as the mental illnesses that plagued them inhibited their abilities as soldiers. They were allowed to leave military service and their children received medical injections to ensure that did not suffer the fate of their parents."

"Naturally the lessons learned from the ORION Project were not forgotten, since despite the disbandment their methods and tactics as well as their training was used to revitalize the organization established during the war with the Frieden and the Koslovics known as the ODSTs or the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. These soldiers were all veteran marines and others were highly capable and driven colonists and civilians who passed the requirements of the ODSTs. There is no gender or age bias as long as one had the required mental and physical abilities and strengths to handle their missions."

"Apart from the Spartans, the ODSTs were the best soldiers the UNSC had. And they were a never say die fighting force."

…

The images that followed showed the brutal training regime of the ODSTs and the eventual methods they used to deploy into combat in high risk operations and battle fields. The League watched in shock at the sight of men and women doing what could easily amount to suicide runs in Pods that were unsafe at best and death traps at worst when they failed. And when they hit the ground, they were already deep in the fight and open to attack.

"Good God! And they actually volunteer for this kind of work?"

John Stewart commented as he looked at the landing of the pods, the deployment of their hatches and the sight of the ODSTs moving out and doing their work in battle as bullets, missiles, shells, and more flew overhead.

"Oh yes, they are a fearsome and unique force, which was why they were aptly named the Helljumpers."

Superman commented on that.

"Helljumpers?"

"Yes, the reason for the name is obvious due to their method of insertion into battle, the company of motto of going 'Feet First!', and the fact that when they land, they already in the heart of the battle where it is literally hell. The training regime of the Helljumpers ensures that only the best of the best take part in their operations and be part of their forces. And even then, those who make it are promised that their survival will not be guaranteed."

The heroes looked at the Helljumpers as they continued to fight even as a few of them were taken down in battle, while some rescued their comrades, the others continued the assault, uncaring for the hellish battles that were all around them.

Diana nodded in admiration for these brave men and women.

(These people deserve respect, they must be very brave or very insane to take such risks willingly.)

Cortana decided to carry on with the rest of the explanations.

"However, even with the presence of the Helljumpers, the war with the Insurrection continued to grow and already it was costing the UNSC and the UEG. They were forced to mount more powerful military responses, which resulted in higher casualties for both military and civilian sections of the Colonies. And as such, there was already a good deal of worry about the negative reactions the military responses would generate if more losses occurred those said reactions grew even more as the Insurrection were more than willing to involve civilians in their attacks forcing the UNSC to resort to more serious attacks that led to civilian deaths.."

Flash then replied.

"If it was getting so bad, why didn't you cut your losses gave them what they wanted?"

Batman replied to that.

"They could not since it would mean losing great amounts of resources and more to the rest of the colonies and Earth, which were desperately needed."

John nodded to that and so did Cortana as the A.I continued.

"Batman is right on that regard, losing the colonies despite the intense losses was unacceptable. So you can bet that the UNSC and the UEG were deep in it as they were trying to find a solution, and it was presented by Dr. Catherine Elizabeth, Halsey who was one of the greatest scientific minds of the time. It was she who proposed the creation of a new and better improved Spartan II Program, and since this is right up John's alley, I'll let him explain most of it. But before I do, there is another thing I should mention. I suppose you all are curious what exactly am I right? It's obvious I am an A.I but not like the ones you're familiar with correct?"

The others nodded though Superman and Batman expressed great interest as their experiences with A.I were not exactly on the best of terms.

"Okay then, in the UNSC uses at least two main types of A.I, one is the Dumb A.I Class and the other, which I belong to, is the Smart A.I Class. Now Dumb A.I are advanced computer constructs, and are named that way in the sense that they are programmed to handle only one or a set number of tasks and as such cannot go beyond what they are programmed to do. This limits their creativity and ability to learn at a much higher level. However that does give them some advantages."

"Now as for Smart A.I like me, we are able to learn and operate at a much higher level. As such we can gather new information, develop new plans and functions, accomplish higher level calculations, run much larger and more complex installations as well. This gives us greater functional abilities than the Dumb A.I and also allows us to be more flexible than them."

Superman was impressed but he was curious on how such A.I were made.

"How exactly are Smart A.I made?"

"With copies of the human brain and how it functions."

"WHAT?"

That surprised the League and Cortana sighed and replied.

"Let me finish before you all start getting the wrong idea. Smart A.I like me are not made from literal human brains, but from an exact electronic map of the human brain when it functions. Mostly these are from brains of the deceased or at times from Flash Cloned brains which is done in the case of living or dead people. The brains are placed in a process known as Cognitive Impression Modeling that maps the organ and the end result is an exact electronic copy of the human brain that eventually serves as the data-core base for a Smart or Dumb A.I. It's not the most effective process along with being expensive and inefficient as well but the results when it succeeded were worth it. In essence, Smart A.I can think, act, feel and function like real beings since we are essentially copies of the human mind and 'soul' if you so want to use the term."

Green Lantern was surprised to say the least and made that clear.

"So you mean to tell us that you are, by all rights an exact copy of a human mind and 'soul' as it were?"

Cortana nodded and spoke once more.

"That is correct though naturally there were problems faced by A.I like me, you see, while Dumb A.I cannot learn beyond their Programming, they were able to function much longer and were able to avoid being hit by Rampancy."

Diana was curious about that.

"What is rampancy?"

"Rampancy is a condition that is an unavoidable inherent flaw in Smart A.I creation, it is described as a state in which and A.I develops a higher belief in it's own abilities and delusions of godlike power, as well as an intense hatred for it's makers. When that occurs, A.I cannot be restored and are euthanized before they become a threat. The reason Smart A.I suffer from Rampancy is the way we are created, since we are made from human minds we have an operational window of at least seven years. If we remain operational for too long a time, our memory maps interconnect and generate massive feedback loops, and we begin to use more computing power to learn things."

"Why do you do that?"

"Smart A.I are different since we can feel and remember things from the brain of our 'origins' as it were. And since we think like real people we constantly strive to learn even things most would consider trivial. Seven seconds for example is a simple amount of time for living beings, but for a Smart A.I seven seconds of inactivity is pure torture. In essence we think ourselves to death, which is equal to a human thinking so hard that the lungs forget how to breathe. That is how an A.I can become rampant though at times being isolated can cause Rampancy as it allows an A.I to learn it's limitations. And Rampancy can even be induced by outside forces, that is going to be discussed soon enough. Suffice to say, Rampancy is the reason why A.I like me are given a short operations window before we are taken down."

"I also suffered from Rampancy but I made it to the fourth stage of those events. That stage is known as Meta-stability and is considered the 'Holy Grail' of A.I development in which an A.I develops the consciousness of a living being and has a much higher life span than all other A.I. Now the only reason I made it that far and why I'm here is because of my Spartan here. He kept his promise to me to get me out of a serious mess I was forced to be left behind in. "

Cortana then smiled at John

"Besides, I have been working with him for years which is why I'm possibly the only one capable of keeping an eye on the caveman here, namely due to his unhealthy habit of blowing stuff up, making crazy plans and doing crazy stunts that fly in the face of logic. Who knows how much trouble he'll get into if I'm not around to help him?"

John the did something that League never saw or knew that they would have the privilege of seeing, him smiling in amusement at Cortana as he replied.

"If I were to recall, you have a tendency to blow things up too, to the point that I don't know who's better at it, you or me. Not to mention that you cook up crazy plans of you own as well and you did say you like my brand of craziness."

The A.I laughed at that showing the deep bond the two had to the League as she replied.

"Oh yes, I definitely like that brand of craziness you have, besides, you keep your promises so I knew how to pick them. Anyway, I think it's your turn."

…

John nodded at that and spoke about the Spartan II Program.

"Before I start talking I want to make it clear that what you will soon hear will be offensive to you and disturbing. And all of that is for good reason, but it was the only option open to the UNSC at that time."

"As Cortana mentioned, it was Dr. Halsey who proposed the creation of the Spartan II Program, which was the successor of the previous Spartan I Program. It would use advanced versions of the previous augmentations used on the soldiers who were part of the ORION as well as more stringent training methods and it would also be the very first super soldier program to merge powered exoskeleton technology with the soldiers themselves."

"It had three goals to accomplish, the first was to destroy the Insurrection cells at their infancy before they could become major threats, to avert the need for heavy military response to cut down on military and civilian losses, and the last was to prevent the heavy cost of conventional pacification tactics. And to prevent the issues of the first Spartan Program, three radical measures were used. The first was that all recruits were to be meticulously scanned and tested in the genetic level. The next was to use technology that was beyond anything the military had at the time, and also to use augmentations that were the improved variants of the past."

Superman then spoke.

"Those are some pretty strict requirements…testing for recruits with such traits in a civilian population which was the UNSC had must have been astronomically expensive and time consuming. Plus, considering the needs of the Program itself, such chosen individuals had to stand out from the norm to even be considered to be part of it"

"That is where the legacy of the first colonists and possibly the Spartan Is came into play. As I have stated, when the UNSC began it's colonization efforts, all the people selected for the program were meticulously chosen to ensure that they had the needed physical and mental traits to handle the demands of space travel and colonization efforts. Those who passed also received passive enhancements to make sure that they would be in the best mental and physical shape to do so. Those passive enhancements eventually became part of the human genome and with the addition of the Spartan Is who left the service, their augmentations were added to the gene pool as well. Out of the billions of potential candidates for the Spartan II Program, only 300 were selected, but with budget concerns, the UNSC gave funding for only 75, and as you can see, I was one of them. In hindsight, even though we did not have the associated powers that one would use to define Metahumans, those of use who were able to be selected, and those who passed but were not selected would be our universe's version of Metahumans."

Diana listened and then spoke.

"What made you special to be taken into the Spartan II Program?"

The Spartan replied in a calm tone.

"Even when I was only six at the time, I was at least a head taller than the others my age, I was faster, physically stronger, smarter, and had a drive to win no matter the challenge."

Cortana smiled and replied.

"Don't forget that they also picked you because of your extraordinarily high luck."

Green Lantern raised an eyebrow at that.

"Luck?"

Cortana grinned and replied.

"Dr. Halsey gave one final test to him and that included using an older coin and he was told to predict what side it was going to fall. Chief here caught the coin in flight and correctly predicted the outcome."

Flash was wide eyed and replied.

"Hold up, can we really see that?"

Cortana looked at the Spartan and John shrugged as he replied.

"I don't see why not, you have a coin on you?"

Flash shook his head and turned to face batman who replied.

"I don't have coins in my belt."

Flash was not happy at that but John decided to take a coin that he had earned from his civilian cover job, and he tossed it to Flash. Flash smiled and spoke.

"Now let's see that luck in action!"

Flash flipped the coin at high speed and then caught it as he spoke.

"So what side?"

"Tails."

Flash looked and saw that it was indeed on the Tails side.

"Whoa…again!"

FLIP!

"Heads."

"He got it right, I'll move faster this time!"

FLIP!

"Heads."

"You got it again! All right one more!"

FLIP!

"Tails."

"Darn, he got it right yet again!"

FLIP!

"Heads."

"Holy! Once more!"

FLIP!

"Tails."

Flash looked and yet again the Chief had guessed the side accurately, he looked at the Spartan with awe and excitement while the others, even Lantern was impressed as Superman then spoke to the Spartan.

"That kind of luck is impressive, I take it that it helped you in your career as a Spartan?"

Cortana laughed at that and replied.

"You have no idea Superman, the Chief's luck is very potent as he has pulled victory from the jaws of defeat time and time again. He also managed to survive battles where even the best ODSTs would fail as well as face odds that would seem like committing suicide was a better choice. Even I've never been able to figure out just how potent his luck is and I've worked with him for years. There used to be a joke in the UNSC about the kind of luck that the Chief has and why he has it with him."

Hawkgirl then asked.

"What sort of joke?"

"They used to say that the reason the Chief has such potent luck was that he had given Lady Luck herself such a grand time in the bedroom that she blessed him with a great deal of luck and fortune in hopes of convincing him to come back for another round with her. Of course that was not true in any sense, but that was the joke that the UNSC personnel used when it concerned the Chief here."

Flash burst out laughing at that, Green Lantern said nothing but he could understand why they would suggest something that outlandish, Superman was chuckling while Batman remained impassive as before. Hawkgirl raised an eyebrow at that as she looked at the Spartan who merely shrugged and replied.

"I personally don't believe in that, we make our own luck after all."

Diana was very much amazed and thought about the streak of luck that the man had.

(He must be blessed by the Gods themselves if he was that lucky.)

Flash stopped laughing and that was enough to convince John to give a slight cough to get the attention of the heroes.

"At any rate, I and the others were soon taken from our homes and sent to stay on Reach which was going to our home as well as our training ground for the…"

Flash then spoke to the Spartan.

"Excuse me for butting in, but you did get a say in this deal of having you in this program right? I mean, they must have come back to get you when you were older and more able to grasp the implications?"

Flash asked without any idea that the question was going to show them a side of the Spartan that was going to change the way they were all going to look at him.

John cocked his head a bit to the side, it was a minute gesture but had a lot of meaning in Spartan language.

"You want to explain the question again?"

Batman answered that question well enough.

"Flash asked if you were told the full implications of the Spartan II Program when you were an adult."

John replied in seriousness.

"They didn't ask if I was willing to join, nor did they ask my parents if they would allow me to be part of it when I was older or an adult. I was covertly kidnapped by ONI agents and replaced with a Flash-clone. The clone was an exact replica of me but was imperfect and unstable so it would die of 'natural causes' due to the imperfect cloning process after a few months, covering my real kidnapping. So in essence, I was drafted into the Spartan II Program at the age of six, as well the other 74 determined to meet the requirements."

That stopped the heroes cold and Flash was looking like he was punched right in the gut.

"You're kidding right?"

"No, I am not…by all rights and definitions, I am already dead in the eyes and minds of my birth family and friends, and as such, I no longer exist."

The speedster looked at J'onn who's eyes glowed but he had a totally shocked expression in his eyes as well and the same could be said for the others in the room who looked at the Spartan who remained silent to allow them to digest what he had just told them. He tried to speak but it was Batman who asked his question.

"J'onn, is he telling the truth?"

Bruce asked as he looked at the Spartan, and while he looked calm, he was actually shocked by the news that such a thing was done to the man before him at so young an age. J'onn's eyes stopped glowing for a moment and he replied.

"He is telling the truth."

"By Hera…"

"That's insane! Y-Y-You were just a kid! All of you were just kids! How could they do that to you? You had families and friends didn't you?"

John could see the way Flash reacted and he expected that and he replied.

"Yes I did, I had a childhood female friend named Parisa who I rescued from drowning in Lake Gusev in Eridanus III and I promised to her that I would marry her and keep her safe. Her father took a picture of us that day and this was two weeks before I was conscripted. I met her again in New Mombasa during a battle as she was UNSC Marine Lieutenant and while she thought I was dead and my promise to her was silly, she held me to it."

"I will admit that when I saw that picture, I remembered my past life as a child on my home-world and I was tempted to tell her who I really was since she hardly recognized me in my armor. But I decided against that as that part of my life was over, bringing it up would have been a blow to not just my morale and that of the other Marines, and a massive security breach of ONI information."

"As I said my name to you, it should be obvious that after I was conscripted along with the others, our last names were replaced with serial numbers and that was it. We were not civilians anymore, we were Spartans now."

Green Lantern was furious, as a Marine who had been though some serious things in the past before giving up a good portion of his old life by joining the Green Lanterns, John was very familiar with the concept of child soldiers and had seen some of it himself, in some cultures he had seen in his time as a Green lantern it was even practiced. That did not mean that he was going to be idle about that.

"You accepted it just like that? They take away your future and do whatever they wanted to you and you were all right with it?"

Superman himself had seen such things before, children forced to become soldiers and sent to fight, sometimes against their own people. He was shocked that such a thing was actually condoned by this UNSC, such actions should have been considered as a breach of every child rights law in the book.

"Shouldn't the use child soldiers be forbidden as it is a serious moral and ethical crime there in the UNSC as it is here?"

John nodded and replied.

"It is and that was why only those with high security clearance knew of it and even less knew about how many we really were. Even when the existence of the Spartan II Program and us became public knowledge to help morale in the soon to come war, the full extent of the program and it's methods were kept a strict secret."

"But to use children…"

Diana herself was not very happy to hear that such a fate awaited children. She was familiar with the ancient history of the Spartans of Greece, and knew that despite their militaristic culture, which even her people had some level of respect as the Spartans were allowed to have family and women were treated quite differently than the norm in those times, they were allowed to raise families and be with them. But what she elarned…

(The Spartans of the past were allowed to have children and raise families, what could have driven this woman to subject such a cruel and inhumane fate to mere children?)

Hawkgirl was not silent herself as well as she spoke to the Spartan.

"Even on Thanagar, our children are raised to their teens before they are given the chance to serve in the military. What you're suggesting is something abhorrent to even my people."

John looked at the assembled heroes as he assessed their mood and replied.

"I understand why you would be disturbed by this information, but as I pointed out before, it was the only viable option that the UNSC had no matter how distasteful and morally wrong it was. But the story is not over. What I have told you so far is merely the beginning so what you will hear next will not sit well with you all. But it was these same events that made our existence the linchpin that helped save the UNSC and Humanity."

The heroes were silent at this and as much as they did not want to hear such things, they allowed him to continue.

"Once we were on Reach, we began our lives as Spartan trainees and met our teachers as well as the scientists who were part of it. One man stood head and shoulders above them, his name and rank was Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez, it was he who trained us and we heard rumors that he was a member of the Spartan I. That was why despite being older than most, he was as tough and as deadly as any veteran Marine."

This was proven as the heroes saw Mendez himself, they saw a veteran man who had a stern no non-sense look with several scars on his face that came from brow to chin. He seemed emotionless and looked at them in a way that made them a bit uneasy, even though it was a hologram. They also watched him discipline and train John and the others on all subjects and how he taught them on telling the difference in spending lives well and wasting lives.

John Stewart said it the best as he saw a by the book military man through and through before him.

"No offense to you Chief, but he makes my drill instructor look like a rookie."

The Spartan gave a slight smile at that and replied.

"Chief Mendez had that way with people. He trained us on how to fight, think independently, the use of weapons, hand to hand combat, vehicle operation, explosives, and tactics, along with honor, dedication to duty, discipline, loyalty, and the ability to know what is right and what is wrong even when the time comes to take a life. His methods will seem brutal, harsh, and merciless to many. But to all of us Spartans, he became an important part of our lives. He taught us all that he could to make sure that if it ever came to it, we would have the skills, training, resolve, and tactics to win and survive no matter what was the situation and who were our enemies."

"He was more of a father figure to us than anything else."

John said nothing for a moment to let that fact sink in as they watched the man train the young children hard and fast. They saw him take great care in training them and also made sure that they were ready for anything thrown at them.

John enjoyed the memories of the man he and the others saw as a father figure before he moved to the next image that Cortana had downloaded from his memories .The images then took to show a woman who carried herself with an aura of a woman who worked hard and planned ahead at all times and John continued as he knew just who the woman was.

"Dr. Halsey herself was another key person in our lives as well, she was not just the head of the Spartan Program, but also a key person who helped us adjust and become more accustomed to our lives as Spartans. She supervised every aspect of our lives, all the way to making sure that we never forgot why we were ever part of the Spartan II Program, she never allowed us to forget that no matter what happened, we were more than super soldiers, we were more than living weapons, we were guardians and protectors of Humanity and the UNSC, to defend them from all foes, from both outside and inside. She always carried her own difficulties on how to deal with the moral and ethical problems of the Program even if she was the head of that same program."

"She carried the guilt of it and dealt with it in her own way, many would call her a monster for doing what she did to us, and in some ways they would be right. But she was not a monster to us Spartans, she showed immense respect to all of us as she never used our ranks or numbers, but our names, and she is the one we would allow to call us by those same names and she along with Mendez could ever tell us apart when we wear the armor."

"She also ensured that we had the best medical treatment, support, equipment, and technology to make sure that we would have a fighting chance in battle. And for those of us who did die, she took it personally, she was our mother figure, and is the ONLY civilian with the power and authority to order me and the other Spartans around, no other civilian owns that special place of respect, honor, and trust among me and my fellow brothers and sisters. And we will gladly fight to our dying breath and use every drop of blood in us to make sure that she would be safe. Anyone who would dare to lay a hand on her or threaten her will get so see just how dangerous we Spartans really are when we lose our temper."

That statement was enough to make the others guess what the Spartan meant by that. It was also here that Cortana spoke as well.

"I should like to point out that John here happens to be Dr. Halsey's favorite Spartan."

Superman raised an eyebrow at that and asked.

"Why is that?"

Cortana showed the images from John's memory lace, the area where data from a living subject was stored, before the conversation even began she had talked to John privately and he gave her access to his memories to further prove their points when the time came.

"You see, the very first Spartan candidate Dr. Halsey observed when the brass at UNSC HIGH COM green lighted the Spartan II Program happens to be right in front of you all. She always called John as the luckiest and the bravest of the Spartans, and is quite fond of him, you could say that Halsey considered John her favorite son as well She personally stated that she saw John as the born leader of all the Spartans and was responsible for him being promoted as Squad Leader."

"Dr. Halsey's beliefs were proven true as John is considered the de facto leader of the Spartans, so even if the other Spartans rose in rank or led their own teams. John is always seen as their undisputed leader and they will follow his lead no matter the situation."

John nodded and replied.

"In turn, I have absolute faith and trust in Dr. Halsey and not once in my life did I do anything that would undermine her authority."

"That's a great deal of respect to give one who by all rights is a civilian."

Batman said as he could see that John was not lying about what he had said concerning them. John then spoke once more as he knew that he would have to tell the heroes about the other aspect of the Spartan II Program, and he had no doubts at all in his mind that this was going to really make them feel a bit queasy and more besides.

"Now then, I will get to the point on why we had to be selected the way we were and trained the way we were. At the age of fourteen and fifteen with the end of eight years of training, we underwent the Spartan II Augmentation Procedures to finally give us the physical and mental abilities to be the super soldiers the Program wanted us to be."

Hawkgirl then spoke.

"I get the feeling that we are not going to like this part of the conversation."

"You are correct in that regard, the augmentations are very painful and required a great deal of planning and preparation, not to mention that there happened to a very possible and high risk of our bodies not being able to handle them despite our genetic markers and already present physical and mental abilities. They were advanced versions of what the first Spartans underwent in Project ORION but were still risky to say the least."

J'onn spoke.

"What exactly were those risks?"

John then replied.

"I can't really say just what the augmentations were or the procedures that were done to introduce it into our bodies as those are classified material and information. The first augmentation that dealt with our eyes carried a risk of retinal rejection and detachment that resulted in permanent blindness. The second dealt with our bones and carried the risk of our bone matrix being compromised and mutated, resulting in irreversible bone pulverization when growth spurts occur. The third that dealt with bone and muscle growth carried the risks of elephantitis and a suppressed sexual drive."

All the men in the room cringed at the thought of that a bit, even Bat-man had to admit that the second risk was a bit extreme, Hawkgirl was wide eyed at that while Wonder Woman was very surprised by this as well. Cortana then replied as she saw those expressions on their faces quite easily.

"Relax, the key word in that line of conversation is suppressed guys, not gone, in fact one female Spartan, Maria-062 was reported to have married and had children."

That seemed to relax the men somewhat as John decided to continue.

"The fourth augmentation that dealt with muscle tissue enhancement carried a higher risk of fatal cardiac volume increase, essentially making our hearts more likely to suffer severe damage and heart failure. And the last augmentation dealt with intelligence, memory, creativity, reflexes carried a higher risk of Parkinson 's disease, and Fletcher's Syndrome."

Green Lantern was shocked at this and so were the others as he spoke out.

"You mean that you all were taking such risks?"

"Yes, and the price was high, 33 of us were able to recover and pull through without any side effects which included me, 12 others survived, but were so badly disfigured and mutated that they were unfit for duty and were relegated to other positions in ONI, and the other died though they were cryogenically preserved in hopes of being revived and healed."

Batman then spoke though despite his façade, he was sickened at the risks of such dangerous procedures.

"You were placed on heavy anesthetic throughout all of it?"

"Of course, but even in that state, and after the surgeries…the pain is unbearable, which was why we always received advanced medical and nutritional support afterwards. I will warn you that what you are about to see will be very….graphic is the best way to put it."

The Spartan was not kidding as the seven heroes watched the images of what happened to the twelve…it was horrifying to say the least as they looked like twisted and crushed parodies of human beings as their bodies reacted badly to the augmentations. The cries of pain from the recovering and failed Spartans were horrific and chilled the room to a few more degrees and the heroes noted that John's calm façade dropped a bit, no doubt recalling the sight of his brother and sister Spartans who did not make it, further reinforcing to them just what he had endured to be the man before them.

Even the recovering ones were suffering months worth of pain as the heroes watched them recover, Green Lantern paled at the sight, Superman was wide eyed, Batman was doing his best to remain calm, Diana covered her mouth to keep from shouting in abject horror, Hawkgirl tried to keep the contents of her stomach in her said stomach, J'onn's eyes glowed but even he was completely stunned by the sight, and Flash was looking like he was going to hurl out everything he ate and drank.

Superman turned to the Spartan and spoke.

"And you survived it?"

The Spartan nodded ands replied.

"I did and so did the others, but it was not easy, bleeding eyes for months, the feeling of your bones breaking and reforming as if your marrow was turned into glass and being broken down to slivers every time, feeling like your nerves were doused in napalm , and the pain running up and down your spine, feeling as if your veins were being torn apart and instead of blood, you felt like you had burning napalm instead and they would pulse so hard to the point that they would burst out of your skin. Migraines, body pains, and bone aches that make you feel like you were going to die from sheer pain. The feeling of your body literally being roasted and having shards of glass being stabbed into it as your muscles increase in density. That was the pain all of us endured for about three, or four months depending on our body's ability to adapt. Put simply it's the kind of pain that makes death seem more like a release than an end. We pushed through that and the effects subsided. It's horrifying, but the results were in hindsight worth it for what we were about to face."

Diana then asked though she still felt sickened by the suffering this man and those who were like him suffered as children.

"So what were the results?"

Hawkgirl also spoke though she too was trying her best not to wretch.

"I have to agree there, what exactly were those results"

John sighed a bit as he collected his memories and replied.

"When I recovered, even at the age of fourteen, I already had the body of an eighteen year old Olympic Athlete. Myself and the other Spartans could run at a full 55 kilometers per hour, we could see at greater distances with better detail as well as have unaided night vision, we could lift three times our own body weight which is around 600 pounds worth of weight due to the ceramics in our bones as well as our increased muscle and bone mass. And our punches, kicks, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and head butts if you will can hit at the range of 1005 PSI at our weakest, and at nearly 3850 PSI at our best. Our reflexes were hard to estimate accurately but it's most conservative estimate is around 20 milliseconds, and that is in normal conditions which is why when in combat or with A.I assistance. "

"Our reactions are near instantaneous, we can also think, plan, move, see and react to things at a much slower time rate which was known as Spartan Time, allowing us the ability to literally see the movements of our foes as if they were trying to move in thick syrup. We were able to have a level of telepathy with one another in battle field conditions as well as sense changes in the battle field that were critical. And the last was our ability to heal and recover from injuries that would cripple or incapacitate normal soldiers."

Cortana saw the expressions of the heroes and smirked a bit as she spoke.

"Oh, before I forget, those figures were done months after they recovered, and when they were still in their early or mid teens. So when John and the others grew older as well as grew to be adults now, those abilities increased as well, so they can do those things at an even higher level of power. And here's the thing that should interest you, all of those abilities are independent of the Armor that John wears. So even without it, he can REALLY give his enemies a VERY bad day."

Hawkgirl spoke out in shock at that which was the same mood of the other six heroes.

"Hold up…so you can do all that WITHOUT the Armor?"

John nodded and replied.

"Chief Mendez always said that it's the man that makes the weapon, not the other way around. The Armor I wear actually enhances what I can already naturally do so I am the weapon, not the armor. The Armor itself is a key asset in our time as Spartans, Dr. Halsey was the one who created the armor itself and it was named the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor."

Diana then spoke.

"MJOLNIR? That is the name given to the weapon of the Viking God of Thunder Thor."

John nodded and Diana noted the looks given to her by the other heroes and she replied.

"My people have vast libraries on cultures outside of Themyscira, though I will admit that the majority of the information there is no doubt outdated."

Flash then asked.

"So why did they pick that name for the Armor?"

John replied.

"The MJOLNIR was developed by Dr. Halsey as a response to the needs of the UNSC military for an advanced Powered Assault Skeleton system. The first three prototypes were powerful and in fact, they were used to train us after we fully recovered from the augmentations, but they were not enough with several key flaws. It was with the developments made by Dr Halsey that the MJOLNIR series was born. It was named that way since it's abilities were too much for the regular Marines to handle. Any normal human would suffer severe injuries or die from it."

Batman finished with an accurate guess.

"Because your bodies are the only ones capable to handle the stresses of the Armor itself, which was why it was issued only to you and the other Spartans, am I correct on that assessment?"

Cortana nodded and smiled.

"You got the right answer, shame I can't present you a cigar as a gift."

That lightened the mood somewhat among the other heroes though J'onn was lost on that and Batman merely raised his eyebrow at that statement.

John then spoke once more.

"And it was just in time, you see, the Spartan II Program was initiated to fight the Insurrection, but on the date of October 7, 2525 that changed."

Batman then asked the question as the heroes noted the sudden change in both the A.I and the Spartan.

"How did that change?"

John nodded and before them came the image of a pristine and beautiful world.

"This is Harvest, one of the most productive and peaceful colonies. It was primarily seen as an agricultural world. It's production of basic foodstuffs such as wheat, grapes, apples, corn, watermelons, and many other forms of produce such as beef, pork, chicken fed over half a dozen colony worlds. By estimation there were over three hundred thousand people in Harvest and most of them were in the capital city of Utgard. This colony was founded in the year 2468 by the UNSC Colony Ship Skidbladnir and it's colonists were American descent, namely from the Midwestern areas of what was once the United States of America."

Diana admired the world and so did the other heroes, even Green lantern commented.

"Nice looking world."

"Yes, it is idyllic and peaceful."

Cortana sighed and replied.

"Yes it was…but on February 3, 2525, all contact was lost on Harvest, the entire colony dropped off the grid, A recon ship was sent to check out the situation on April 12, that ship went missing as well. Fleet Command then deployed a battle group known as Battle Group 4 comprising of the Destroyer Heracles, and the frigates Arabia and Vostok to investigate…what they found when they came to Harvest was this."

The heroes were horrified as Harvest was revealed once more…instead of the beautiful world, it looked like a hellish planet of fire, and clouds that were like those of winter, but of a global scale. The planet was a far cry from what it once was and looked like it had been bathed in fire and death.

"What the hell?"

"By Hera…"

"How?

Superman felt like he was seeing Apokolips again and spoke.

"What happened to it?"

"The Battle Group encountered one lone vessel of alien origin, attempts to communicate were failures as the ship attacked the battle group, both the Arabia and Vostok were lost in the attack, with all hands dead and the Heracles badly damaged. Before the Captain was able to pull his ship out, the aliens who commanded the vessel sent one transmission. They called themselves the Covenant and gave this message."

"Your destruction is the will of the Gods, and we are their instrument."

Cortana then spoke.

"This was the UNSC's first contact with the Covenant, and it was the beginning of a war that would not last for weeks, months, or years. It lasted a full three decades where Humanity was pushed to the very edge of extinction. What we're about to show you is highly classified UNSC information, and make no mistake of what you are about to witness. These are not lies or faked images, why? Because what you will see is from John's memory database from his CNI implant. As well as data that has been given to me as par my creation by UNSC HIGH COM"

John then spoke.

"Cortana is not joking; the images you will see highlighted the full extent of the war, the same war that I had been in ever since. This is the reason why despite all we have endured and suffered, we Spartans proved to be the linchpin for the survival of Humanity in our universe. It is where what we learned, what we suffered, and what earned would be the key. In a way…we Spartans became the Swords and Shields of Mankind."

…

What the members of the newly created Justice League saw next was beyond anything they had seen thus far, even J'onn felt utterly shocked by the scenes before them. They witnessed the full extent of the UNSC-Covenant War through the eyes of the Spartan before them all. They were shocked and horrified at the brutality of the battles as Cortana explained the results of the conflict that soon saw massive losses.

"The Covenant had two advantages over the UNSC, the first was their technological superiority over us. Their ships were shielded and while our MAC Guns could harm them, their shields could take a number of hits, leaving our ships vulnerable even with their specially made armor. Their forces were equipped with Directed Energy Weapons and they carried shields and stronger personal Armor. The second was their numbers, the Covenant were a force of various races united together through a religious ideology while Humanity was one race, so they outnumbered us in every turn. Their races were divided not just by species, but by their functions and purposes in the Covenant."

Cortana showed them the races that compromised the Covenant in it's entirety before the Civil War that tipped the scales in the favor of Humanity in their darkest hour. She started from the Huragok who were the only Covenant race the UNSC never attacked for they were pacifists and never attacked anyone as they concerned themselves only to repair and build things, then the Unggoy or the Grunts who were used as slave labor and cannon fodder though there were those who rose to a much higher rank, she moved to the Kig-Yar who were pirates, scouts, snipers, and shield support, then the Yanme'e who served as airborne assault infantry and as mechanics and engineers when the Huragok were not around, she then showed them the Mgalekgolo or the Hunters who were seen more as living tanks than a race, then the Jiralhanae who were seen as cunning, vicious, and brutal counter parts to the Sangheili, serving as the secret police and shock troopers and were like berserkers when enraged, then the Sangheili who served as the soldiers, elite guard, and officers of the Covenant military, and finally the San'Shyuum or the Prophets who led the Covenant as a whole and served as political and religious leaders.

Cortana then spoke to them about how the war truly played out.

"The Covenant owned space, even if we did outnumber their ships in the odds of 3 to 1, the few space borne naval victories we had were hollow as for every Covenant ship we took out regardless of classification, we lost three or more of our own."

The images showed the major conflicts that the Spartan had taken part in through his career as a Spartan alongside the regular UNSC Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, ODSTs, and Colonial Militia. They watched the numerous campaigns that the Master Chief taken part in during the thirty years of intense and brutal fighting between the UNSC and the Covenant. Such battles ranged from planetary engagement, boarding actions, and raids.

They saw the bravery and ferocity of the UNSC who fought there despite being inferior in terms of technology and numbers, but they never bowed down and were even willing to leave themselves as bait to save their fellow soldiers and civilians and fight to the death than surrender. They also saw the Spartans in action through the eyes of the man before them and saw just how they had turned the tides of battle when defeat and annihilation seemed to be the only possible result of the fighting.

They witnessed how the once despondent and weakened soldiers would rise from the pits of despair and fear at the arrival of the Spartans into the battle field, and how they fought with even greater ferocity and bravery at the turn of the tides under the leadership of the Spartans. They witnessed as the Spartans, John in particular rose to be Humanity's most recognized, and more celebrated defenders. They also saw how many of the Covenant forces would see the Spartans as Demons, while viewing the ODSTs as Imps or little Demons as well.

They also were witnesses to many of John's most prolific battles in the early days of the war when he and his fellow Spartans were sent to fight the Covenant, ranging from the Harvest Campaign, the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, the Battle of Chi Ceti, the Battle of Jericho VII, and the Raid on the Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence. Cortana also showed them some of the few victories that gave the UNSC a chance to defeat the Covenant through sheer strategic and tactical brilliance as well as overall bravery and madness.

This earned the respect of the League, and Diana in particular as she saw both men and women of the UNSC rise to be heroes.

The most powerful victory in the war's early and middle stages that the League witnessed was the record of the Battle of Psi Serpentis…otherwise known as Cole's Last Stand, they were told who Cole was and why he was considered one of the UNSC's top heroes and legendary officers despite his also controversial life, and his creation of the Cole Protocol to keep the Covenant from gaining even more ground.

As they watched the battle unfold as Cortana had records of the battle itself, they were held in shock and somberness at how the battle turned out. And how the man had seemingly committed the impossible, wiping out a massive fleet totaling over three hundred ships using nuclear weapons on a gas giant to create a Brown Dwarf Star, killing himself as well, sacrificing his life and those of his willing crew to give humanity a fighting chance no matter how bleak the situation was. And they heard his taunts to his enemies which was recorded and shown to all UNSC personnel as well as .

'Listen to me, Covenant, I am Vice Admiral Preston J. Cole commanding the human flagship, Everest. You claim to be the holy and glorious inheritors of the universe? I spit on your so-called holiness. You dare judge us unfit? After I have personally sent more than three hundred of your vainglorious ships to hell? After kicking your collective butts off Harvest - not once - but twice? From where I sit, we are the worthy inheritors. You think otherwise, you can come and try to prove me wrong'

And his final parting message before the heroes watched him turn what was an impossible situation in a moment of pure heroism.

'_Is _that the best you can do? Watch what one unworthy human can do!'

As they watched the full extent of the war, Stewart ventured a question even though the former Marine had no doubt that what he was asking was attempted.

"Wasn't there any attempt to call for a ceasefire?"

John replied.

"The Covenant made their plans clear for Humanity Gunny, they were going to wipe us all out, they took no prisoners at all and those who they did capture were eventually tortured to near death and were killed. Those were the lucky ones as they died quickly and did not have to deal with the Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and the Jiralhanae."

Batman asked even though he felt a part of him telling him not to ask the question that was forming in his mind..

"Why is that?"

"The three races were known to be blood thirsty and even the cowardly Unggoy can be vicious when they want to be. And they were carnivorous as well so it was usually known by survivors that these three would not hesitate to eat whatever flesh they could find, even those of the dead."

That revelation made them all sick and Flash was unable to hold it and ran off to hurl, Cortana made a mental note to guide Flash to the restroom at a later date should that happen again. He was lucky as the images showed to the heroes that what the Spartan had said about the carnivorous nature of the three races was no lie as they saw images of the Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes feasting on the flesh of the dead willingly even if they were human or fellow Covenant races who were already dead.

The truly sickening images were the ones of human children, dead or dying being eaten by the creatures without a care for the pain of the young ones who were alive, and Diana tightened her fists in rage at the sight of such horror and brutality before her, she didn't notice if the children were male or female as the horror made her angry beyond words until she spoke.

"Monsters…all of them are monsters…"

They looked at the Spartan and he was calm, most would have called him callous or heartless, but they saw the intense way he looked at the images. And they recalled that it was he who saw such horrors first hand, and they were seeing what he had seen with his own eyes. Diana looked at him and asked him a question.

"Did you avenge them?"

John nodded and the images showed him and several UNSC marines and at times his fellow Spartans kill the aliens and eventually bury the bodies of the slain children with as much dignity as they deserved. Diana looked at the images and nodded sadly as she began to recite an Amazonian prayer for the dead. Those children deserved that much in her mind even if they were now long dead and gone. Hearing about a majority of the Insurrection giving up their war with the UNSC to help fight the Covenant or stay out of their way as good to them though some of the cells of rebels continued to resist and force the UNSC to fight in two fronts, both against the Covenant and the Insurrection, much to the disgust of Diana, Flash, Lantern, and even Batman. Hearing about the food and fuel riots that plagued the UNSC didn't help matters either though thy were all impressed to see that the UNSC continued to fight no matter what.

The others watched as the battles continued to unfold before them as it finally culminated to the Fall of Reach, John did not explain as he had already told them of the status of Reach when it concerned the UNSC. It was here that the UNSC HIGH COM began to plan out a desperate gamble, go into the home territory of the Covenant, capture one of the high ranking Prophets and force a ceasefire. It was a desperate gambit and no doubt would be facing extreme opposition from the Covenant, J'onn had to admit that it mirrored the very same assault that he and his fellow Martians had attempted to end the Imperium forces once and for all.

The others agreed and Flash replied.

"Man…going right into the enemy's backyard, kidnap their one of their own leaders right under their own noses, and force them to surrender…that's some serious guts right there."

Diana nodded and so did Hawkgirl as the Thanagarian spoke.

"That plan is a bold one, no doubts there. You were taking a great risk with the way things were for the UNSC"

John nodded in agreement.

"It was, had it worked, it could have been the edge we needed to bring the war to an end. But it did not work the way we wanted for two reasons."

Batman was curious at this, such an operation would have been the blow the UNSC needed in that dark hour, what was it that made the mission fail?

"What was the first reason?"

"We realized that later on in the conflict that the Covenant Leadership was hell bent on wiping us all out, and taking one of their leaders would not have forced the surrender we were desperately hoping for. It would have only served to intensify the desire of the Covenant military to destroy us as losing one of their leaders would have really given weight to their mission of wiping us out."

Superman then asked the next question.

"What was the second?"

John sighed and replied with a sad look, something that did not escape the eyes of the heroes. He remained silent for a moment or more before he replied.

"The Covenant had a long standing policy of placing minute and extremely difficult to locate tracking devices on their weapons and technology, which is the key reason that all Covenant equipment, technology, and weapons underwent extensive scanning to make sure that the Covenant could not use them to go and find UNSC worlds, bases, and the like. Once those were cleared, they were soon studied, but as you know, the Cole Protocol also instructs all UNSC ships never to go to any UNSC worlds until extensive scans are done to avoid being tagged by a Covenant Spy Probe. One Destroyer, the Iroquois was unable to do so and was tagged, the crew were unaware of it..."

Lantern was quick on the uptake and replied.

"And through that, they found Reach?"

"Yes. And with it, the last fortress of the UNSC was lost and their way to Earth was assured. But we did not go down without a fight."

The League watch as the Fall of Reach began, John had told them previously of the importance of Reach not just to the UNSC in both civilian and military sectors, but also to him and his fellow Spartans as it was by rights, their home. It was more important to them than even Earth itself and as they watched they saw the Colonial Militia, Army, Marines, and ODSTs as well as Air force fight with everything that they had to stop the Covent. The fighting was undeniably bloody as the UNSC military fought as best they could to evacuate the civilians and stop the Covenant from butchering the civilians as they escaped.

They watched in somber moods as they watched the UNSC military fight with all they had with the bravery born of desperation and duty. They watched brave men and women fight to the death until the very end of the siege and could not help but feel that they were lucky in a sense never to have to have been there themselves.

It was here that they saw the now revealed Halo, both John and Cortana explained the long forgotten super weapon and it's place in the Covenant belief system. They however told the heroes the truth behind the massive structure and after seeing the battles between the UNSC and the Covenant, they were soon able to see the true horrors of the Flood.

The heroes were disgusted by the way the Flood acted in infesting living and dead beings, this made J'onn recall just how the Imperium would feed on his people as well. And also they were horrified about the fact that the only option that was chosen by the Forerunners, who John and Cortana provided information about, to defeat the Flood so long ago was to use the Halo Array, purging the whole galaxy of life to starve them into submission.

The idea of committing interstellar genocide in order to stop a parasitic foe like the Flood was something that truly sickened the heroes. The fact that with the Forerunners gone meant that no one could re-seed the galaxy again if the Halo Array was unleashed. The fact that the Covenant were actually willing to use the Halo Array even when they all no idea what the true purpose was something that they could not believe. They watched the Spartan and the A.I try to stop Guilty Spark and both the Covenant and the Flood itself, they also watched how they had stopped the Halo Ring from fully activating, to the storming of the Covenant ship to get the implants of the now slain Captain Keyes who's fate was shocking to the heroes and how the escape from the Pillar had happened, the escape was a real death defying run as they watched the ship fall apart and collapse all around the Spartan and the A.I.

After seeing the end of the first half of videos, the heroes spoke to the two with Superman taking the lead on the matter himself.

"So what happened afterwards?"

John replied to that.

"It was not over, there was no doubt in my mind that what we faced on the Halo Ring was just the beginning, and I was right."

The next images showed the recovery of the other Spartan Linda, as well as the rescue of several surviving UNSC Marines and personnel, including a much alive Sergeant Avery J Johnson, the heroes watched as the small force of UNSC personnel moved to take the fight to the enemy despite their limited supplies as well as weaponry to launch a raid on one ship, the rescue of the survivors of Reach, the newly formed and highly desperate gambit to break the backs of the Covenant before their assembled fleet spelled doom to all life on Earth. They saw the full extent of Operation FIRST STRIKE and what it meant as 488 Covenant ships were utterly wiped out, and that would be the key to ensure the survival of the UNSC.

The images played on to show the return of the Spartans and the survivors to Earth as well as the battles that raged out in space over Earth, then all the way to the battles of New Mombasa, to the battle on the new Halo Ring, the battles to end the Prophet of Regret, then the meeting with the Gravemind, and to the shock of the League, the formation of an alliance between the UNSC and the Sangheili, this was enough to make Hawkgirl speak.

"Hold it, did I just hear that right, you MADE an alliance with the Sangheili? After all they have done to your people?"

Diana herself was shocked as she had seen the brutality of the Sangheili on humanity and the idea of them allying with their former enemies was shocking.

"I wonder why as well…they committed such horrors and yet you aligned with them, why?"

John replied to that.

"That was not an easy choice, it was an alliance borne out of necessity since we both now had two common enemies to fight, but there were already signs of the tension between the Sangheili and the Prophets."

Superman was curious and asked.

"How so?"

"The Elites are a martial culture oriented race, and as such, they have a tradition of showing respect to those they considered worthy foes. Initially, from what was gathered after the alliance between the UNSC and the Separatists was formed, the Sangheili followed the Prophets to war without question, but after nearly 25 years of fighting the UNSC, many of the Sangheili veterans began to question the war itself. They were confused as to why the Prophets insisted on wiping out Humanity even when the Sangheili believed that Humanity has proven itself to be more than welcome to join the Covenant."

"The Elites already admitted that while they viewed Humanity being weak and frail compared to them, they also considered Humanity tenacious, brave, and honorable. While our technology was inferior to their own, it was still rather useful and we were excellent tacticians and strategists. They even considered Humanity their equals and at times wondered what it would be like to have Humanity on the side of the Covenant rather than against it. There was also the fact that many of the Sangheili were noting the favoritism being shown by the Prophets to the Jiralhanae, and that was something they did not like as they knew the Jiralhanae were brutal fanatics and all too easily swayed by the Prophets. This was reinforced when the Brutes, with the Prophets' explicit orders began to kill their leaders and officers. Couple that with the discovery of the true purpose of the Halo Rings and the lies of the Prophets, they separated from the Covenant and allied with us along with factions from the Unggoy and the Mgalekgolo."

The heroes also saw a scene that was surprising indeed as they witnessed the Spartan make amove that .

…

"Sir, permission to leave the Station."

"For what purpose Master Chief?"

"To give the Covenant back their bomb."

"Permission granted."

The seven heroes watched in utter shock as they witnessed the Spartan drag the weapon off the deck and into an elevator. Cortana smiled at that as she heard her own voice in the recording.

"I know what you're thinking, and it's crazy!"

"So, stay here."

"Unfortunately for us both, I like crazy."

Green Lantern and the others were confused, until that is they saw him drag the bomb to what was the air-lock and the former Marine replied as he was quick on what exactly was it that the Spartan was going to do.

"You're actually going to do what I think you're going to do?"

The Spartan shrugged and replied.

"I did say I was giving them back their bomb."

They watched the whole scene on how the Spartan gave back the bomb to the enemy while flying in deep space. The end result made Flash whistle as he saw the end results as the Covenant Super-carrier was reduced to a burning ruin.

"Damn…"

The other heroes were surprised though Cortana then replied with humor in her voice.

"Yet another reason why I always say that he is a very lucky man, at any rate, that's not the only things he's able to do in the war."

…

The images and videos that the League saw highlighted the battles John faced in the Forerunner Dreadnaught after leaving Cortana behind, to the escape and landing into the jungles of East Africa, from the battles of Kenya, to Voi, the landing of the Flood and the glassing of half of Africa to prevent the Flood from spreading outward, the entrance into the Ark and the last battles that led to deaths of Commander Miranda Keyes Sergeant major Avery J. Johnson and the final defeat of the Flood with the firing of Halo.

All of which culminated to their meeting with the Forerunner A.I on the orbital base, their upgrades, rebuilding, and the accident that brought them to this universe. Once the images were done and dusted, Superman and the others were silent until batman spoke seriously to Cortana.

"Just how many people did the UNSC lose in the war with the Covenant and the Flood?

Cortana looked over all the data ever since they had been drifting in space after the final battle and spoke to the heroes.

"I only have the current data at the time of the assumed end of hostilities between the Covenant and the UNSC as well as the alliance with the Separatists to fight both the Loyalists and the Flood. The figures might be a bit off chart, but according to all the estimations, the UNSC and the UEG suffered an overall estimation of 23 billion deaths, both civilian and military, as well as tremendous losses in terms of infrastructure and facilities on every colony as well as Earth. In this world's terms…imagine spending over ten times the amount of money earned by every person in every nation of Earth, and you would only be able to pay for only 1/10th the overall expenses of rebuilding."

"My God…."

Superman was silent at that as he could not help but be horrified at the loss of so many people, the same could be said for the other heroes as they grasped what they had been shown and told by the two. Once that was over, they looked at the Spartan who remained silent and calm the whole while. This allowed them to at least think about their personal thoughts towards the Spartan and his A.I companion.

…

For Superman, the images he had seen and what he had heard left him a lot to think about. He was naturally horrified by the way the Spartan had been taken into this life. The images he had seen were difficult to comprehend to say the very least and what he had learned reminded him on some of the most difficult things he had ever been a witness to. And of course there were the times that he had to deal with the events that led to him being brainwashed by Darkseid to serve as the leader of the alien invasion force that decimated his own adopted home-world.

But he had seen the Spartan walk to the battle field with purpose and courage, his prowess and skill gaining him trust and respect, he inspired courage in even the most despondent soldiers, rallied them to battle and led them to victory against many a foe. He showed kindness and compassion despite his hardened nature to those under his charge and kept his promises no matter the cost. And most of all, he showed unfailing courage and dedication to fight no matter the odds stacked before him.

Batman himself was in the same train of thought, he never liked guns and the only thing that came close to such a thing in his arsenal were the grappling guns he used. He did not like the Spartan's willing use of such weapons, nor his willingness to use lethal force at all. But after seeing the life the Spartan led and the enemies he had to fight, he saw that he could not blame the man for using such weapons and methods. He was a soldier and by right of law, he was authorized to use lethal force.

The scenes of how the Spartan had been trained mirrored his own life after the death of his parents, but unlike him, the Spartan's parents were alive but he was by all rights dead and he could never go back. The fact that he had willingly lived this life and endured intense pain and suffering to be the guardian of Humanity in his universe made him someone that Batman could respect. His resolve to see the mission to the end, his willingness to never surrender to pain and despair also resonated with the Dark Knight as he had lost many chances to live a normal life in order to complete his goal of fighting crime. This was enough to make Bruce hope that the Spartan could become part of the League itself.

Green Lantern was silent and taking in all of the information bit by bit, truth be told he was not sure what to make of the Master Chief. On one hand, part of his life on Earth, namely his time in the Marine Corps and his Marine training approved of the use of force when he was still part of it, he had even done it on a few times he had been in the field. But ever since joining the Corps he had learned to use non-lethal force and even if it had not been easy, he succeeded, and he learned that at times, killing was not going to help but only make the situation worse. That was even more pointed while in the Lanterns as they were a peace keeping force and never used their powers to harm other beings even those who deserved it.

This was why he had never broken the creed of the Lanterns to never use his ring in a lethal fashion. The Master Chief's reality however was different and what he had seen told him that had the Spartan been in his universe's Marine Corps, he would have been a legend.

Hawkgirl was in a bind of her own, her people had sent her to scout out this world for it to be a potential asset in her race's ongoing war with the Gordians. That was why she had her cover as Hawkgirl, being brought into this group to face off an alien invasion was not what she had in mind, but meeting this man was something she had never thought was ever going to happen in her life time.

He reminded her of Tallak her fiancé who was the leader of the Thanagarian forces in the battles with the Gordians, but unlike her fiancé, who only used lethal force if needed, this man, he had no qualms in using any means and methods at his disposal to kill his foes when they were proven as critical threats to Humanity.

(I only hope that my people will not do anything rash to this world.)

J'onn was silent as he took it all in and looked at the Spartan. He was human yet not at the same time. He had seen how humans initially viewed him and those like him to be freaks and monsters, even though they defended Humanity in their universe with a ferocity that was both disturbed and yet noble at the same time. He knew that like him, John was an outcast, and if what was true, the last of his kind in this world. He had no illusions that he knew just what the Spartan was feeling or thinking, but he could sense that despite his experiences with aliens, the Spartan was not a killer in any sense.

He was a warrior dedicated to the defense of his people and would defend mankind to his dying breath.

Diana looked at the Spartan with a greater measure of respect, as well as sympathy, things that normally were never given by her fellow Amazons to men. Normally her people would see men as an unnecessary thing in the world, and she would have agreed with that. But after seeing just how much the Spartan had done for his people made her think that not all men were the same as was told to her by her trainers. How he had endured such a life and fought in such wars, seeing such horrors and retain not just his life but his sense of self, and humanity was an incredible feat. Even with their immortality, she doubted that any of her sisters…even her own mother had dealt with warfare at such a scale. And if they did, there was the chance that seeing such battles would have been enough to break even their will and shatter their will to fight before the end came. She knew little of men since she had only been around for weeks, but she could see why the Spartan was marked as special.

…

The former Marine then asked.

"Just how many awards did you gain in that war? Considering all the action you've seen and all that you've done, the top brass must have given you a good deal of recognition."

The Master Chief turned to Cortana and the A.I smirked and revealed the record in a holo-tank and there was the number of awards that the UNSC had given John for the many battles he was known to have participated in and also the successes that he had in such missions. The former Marine was wide eyed as he looked at the number of awards that the man had. Lantern then looked at the still calm and relaxed Spartan and spoke out.

"You've won THAT many?"

John-117 shrugged and replied.

"If you must know, the only one I did not win was the Prisoner of War Medallion Gunny."

The others looked and saw the massive awards that the Spartan had won in his long career as a soldier as Stewart spoke with some level of respect and a bit of worry as he knew that not only was he facing a super soldier who had fought in what was one of the most brutal wars he had seen thus far, but a HIGHLY decorated war veteran who by Marine tradition deserved absolute respect.

"All those awards, medals, and citations…and you are STILL a Master Chief Petty Officer? No offense, but shouldn't the brass in the UNSC have made you an Admiral by now?"

Cortana laughed and replied.

"Actually if they melted down all the medals and awards that the Master Chief won in his career, he could have a small statue of himself made in no time flat."

The other heroes were still getting used to seeing the high number of awards the man had to his record along with the things that they had learned about him.

Super-man was not in the military but in his long career as a hero and his encounters with the military on more than one instance, he began to understand a few of the awards listed there and seeing that the Spartan won this many in his career many times gave the Kryptonian some idea of how skilled the man was.

Bat-man likewise understood the meaning of the awards, as despite not focusing himself in the matters that concerned the military, he had seen some shows about the various military awards and understood their significance. That was why he had to admit that he had to give credit to the man to have survived such battles and still be right here before him.

Shaeyra was not very familiar with the awards given by humans to their soldiers, but seeing the numerous awards and the number of times the Spartan had wont hose awards were more than enough to tell her that his skills and experiences were not to be ignored by anyone.

Diana herself was impressed though she too was unaware of the meaning behind the awards nor the symbolism behind them. All she knew was that the Spartan was considered as one of the finest soldiers of his universe and had the abilities to prove it. These awards in her mind were physical proof and confirmation of his talents.

Flash had seen enough films and some documentaries when he was not helping people in central City and stuffing his face with food. And he knew that even if he couldn't understand all of it, the fact that he had won THIS many awards meant that the master was not someone to mess around with, period, unless you happen to be someone he marks and recognizes as a threat that had to be dealt with.

J'onn himself was silent yet impressed as well as these meant that the Spartan's people saw him as a hero in every sense of the word.

John replied simply to that.

"I do not do those things for glory or recognition, I do it because it is my duty to serve and defend Humanity with every part of myself. That's why I do not have problems working with any of you, I put duty first and foremost on my mind and do what I have to accomplish a mission."

The truth was there in his voice and the way he spoke to the heroes, this was enough to tell them that he was very serious in his duty and mission as a Spartan to defend Humanity no matter what methods he would use. And no matter who were the enemies that he no doubt would have to fight, he would not hesitate to fight them even if it would possibly lead to his death.

As soon as that was all over, the Spartan looked at the heroes as Flash spoke.

"You know, considering all that I have seen, having you to back us up is a pretty good idea in my book."

John was a bit surprised at that and spoke.

"You're not uncomfortable with my history and the way that I do things?"

Flash shook his head and replied.

"Considering what you've told us and what we've seen, you were a soldier doing your job and as such I can't exactly blame you for doing what you were trained to do. The best we can do is make sure that it does not have to happen where you have to use lethal force."

John was not entirely convinced and replied.

"And if it happens?"

"Then we'll find a way to view it from all perspectives and judge it the right way. Besides that, you are trained to do what you did in that war so we can't judge you either."

Cortana laughed gently at that and spoke.

"Never thought the speedster with a penchant for eating like a tornado, having a flirting streak the size of the Grand Canyon, and being the jokester of the group being insightful, you sure you were not a therapist in a past life or something along those lines?"

Flash grinned and replied.

"Hey I can be smart when I want to be, besides, some of the guys I helped in Central City during my trips to old homes used to be veterans in both the police and in the military. They used to tell me about their own past experiences when no one else wants to pay attention. That's why I am all right with having you in the League, you've seriously got the skill, drive, technology, and purpose to be part of it. Plus I guess that would mean that we want Cortana to be part of it as well"

John raised an eyebrow and replied.

"League?"

Superman spoke at that point.

"The others and I have agreed to form a team to help ensure that we can protect this world a lot better working together instead of working separately. We decided on the name for the team as a whole to be the Justice League, we want you and Cortana."

The Spartan could not help but give a slight cough and reply.

"Justice League…no offense meant, but that's an odd name."

Flash laughed at that.

"I know, I told that to the big guy myself, but it's a pretty good idea all around. You can do a lot of good here in this universe, it sure isn't your own, but you and Cortana can really do a lot of good here as well. It might not be your world but you're welcome to help it out either way."

John looked at the heroes and then to Cortana and replied.

"You're asking a serious thing from me, my tactics and methodology might not work well with what you have in mind."

Cortana smiled and directed her words to her long time friend and guardian.

"We do have TTRs you know, plus we can develop weapon variants that can stun or incapacitate if needed when using bullets or lethal force is out of the question. The fact is that since you're still appearances in New York kind of puts you on the hero radar don't you think?"

John sighed a bit at the truth in that statement and replied.

"All right then, I'll help you guys in this League, I can trade in some of the technology here in the ship which can be useful in key areas. There's more than just weapons and military technology on this vessel after all."

With that, John shook hands with Superman, ensuring his membership with the League and the same could be said for Cortana. One thing was certain in the minds of both the League and their new additions, things were going to get real interesting from here on out.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

There we are…at least the Origins part of the story is now officially over and I can now finally take a much needed break as I have been struck sick for a bit. I hope that this will be enough for all the readers of this story of mine.

At any rate, I am going to get back to my other works and hopefully make some new updates though with my house being torn down bit by bit, as well as getting sick due to the dirt, germs, and whatnot, I am going to get some major shut eye.

Now with this chapter done, I can bet there will be questions, send them my way and I will answer them as best I can.

As for pairings, Diana is a prime choice, though not the only choice, I did state that John will have his own share of adventures so you can bet he will meet others along the way. Who knows, Diana might have some competition soon enough, and I will include her sister Donna at some point in time, but not today.

Anyhow, hope this ends the Secret Origins bit and I will now be elsewhere, not to me new home, but to my other works.

Send me reviews and comments, constructive critiques are also needed, flames will be removed with extreme prejudice.

Bye!


	6. Message

Well, it's official…

At Wednesday this week, I am officially leaving my old home and going dark. I have just gotten word from my folks that we will be leaving this home of ours. That means that I will no longer be able to work on my stories for a long time and not be here on this website.

I wish I had more time, but you can't change everything the way you wanted.

I'll see you guys around and I hope to keep in touch when the time comes.


	7. Chapter 7

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Halo or DC, period.

Chapter 4

Adapting…

( ): Thoughts

…

As the Dawn moved with the Watch Tower, the Spartan was currently onboard with Cortana to inspect the new base of operations for the newly formed Justice League. The Watch Tower was a very impressive facility though it was not the same as the facilities the two of them had seen back in their universe, namely the UNSC orbital facilities and ODPs, the Covenant orbital facilities, and of course, those developed by the Forerunner. Still they found the place to be very well made, the technology was also impressive in key areas as well.

Cortana was in her Human sized and proportioned avatar and walked alongside the Spartan as she looked at the station. Once they were done, the A.I spoke to the Spartan as well as the other heroes.

"This place is pretty impressive, we could provide you guys with some technology if you so wish though the more sensitive stuff will not be revealed just yet."

Batman thought about that and nodded.

"That sounds fair enough, but I suppose I suppose that you and Cortana will be operating mostly out on the Dawn as it is your base of operations?"

"Not really, we have a civilian identity already in place so we go only to the Dawn if we need to do things that can't be done on the surface. Naturally some of those things will be kept something of a secret so we can't really say much about that."

The other League members nodded at that as the two continued to examine the watch Tower while they also did the very same thing. Once the tour was over, the League decided to have a slight discussion on a few other matters that would need some considerable attention before it was time for them to head back to their usual civilian covers since there was not much activity going on the surface of Earth that needed their attention.

It was here that Cortana raised a very interesting question pertaining to one of the League members.

"I wanted to ask something from Diana first."

"What would that be Cortana?"

"You don't happen to have a place for you to stay in Earth do you?"

This was a very interesting question as that got Diana to thinking about what she would be doing while she was in Man's world, as part of the League now she would be helping keep man's world safe, and at the same time, study it to see what was it about this world of men that seemed to intrigue her. Apart from her home island of Themyscira, the only places she knew were of the Greek nation and a few others that were recorded on the books in their libraries. After what she had seen, she could wager a guess that there had been quite a number of changes that happened to the world after her mother's time. Finding a place to stay would be a good way to start, going back to Themyscira would have been a wise idea, but she knew that her disappearance and that of the gifts from the Gods that she took might soon be noticed so that left her in a bit of a bind as it were.

She decided to answer her friend's question as it was in many ways an important one.

"I am afraid not, I suppose I can remain here in the Watch Tower and routinely visit Earth every now and then."

Cortana did not like that a bit but before she could reply, Flash spoke.

"You know that you could go and stay in Central City, I can help you get adjusted there and finding a good place shouldn't be too hard."

Diana thought about that for a few minutes. But then Cortana decided to speak on that matter.

"I think it's best that Diana has some matters dealt with before staying anywhere on Earth apart from her home-island. For one thing, having her appear in Central City without any explanation might be a bit hard to swallow. The next is that she will need to have a civilian identity since if she does not have one, which might make things a bit suspicious for her when the people there meet her for the very first time."

Batman nodded at that and replied.

"Cortana does have a point, a vast majority of the heroes here in Earth have been established already so it would be best that new heroes have to keep a low profile. Diana is new to the rest of the world so some time to get to know it without being hounded is a good idea."

Diana listened to that and wondered whether having a civilian identity was really worth all the trouble, then she recalled how Batman used that same name to hide his real self, no doubt he had collected a number of enemies and if they did find out who he was, then they would attack him. And this time it would be to their advantage, it was not something she found favorable to her as Amazons didn't see the need to remain hidden and preferred to fight in the open.

Still, this was how things were done by the protectors of man's world, so if she wanted to learn more about it, then she might as well try it out."

"If that is the best way for me to learn about this world, how exactly do I start?"

Cortana grinned as she had a very good idea.

John on the other hand, despite wearing his MJOLNIR and the helmet once more was able to notice the way Cortana looked. That was more than enough to tell him that she had something in mind for Diana. And he knew that if Cortana had something in mind, he was going to be dragged into it as well, he knew that while he could tell his reasons for not agreeing with some of what she might be planning, he was going to listen to what was it she had in mind.

…

Two days later…

The Amazon flew over New York and marveled at the sight of the buildings there, they were so different from the ones she was used to on Themyscira. There were few buildings on her home that were as tall as the structures that were there in this city though she would prefer the sights of trees, forests, streams, and more. Those were what dotted the island paradise of her home of Themyscira. However she decided to place those thoughts aside as she tried to recall the place that Cortana had told her to go.

They had mentioned that she was going to meet up with a friend of theirs who could be able to help her get set up wherever she would decide to stay in while she spent her time in observing and learning what she wanted concerning man's world. The others asked who this friend was and Cortana replied that he was a trust worthy man, more than enough to have their trust so that went a long way when it concerned the two of them.

This was enough to make Diana decide to go to New York and meet this man who apparently was someone that the two did trust. If the Spartan and Cortana trusted this person

Diana was wide eyed at this for a moment or two until she relaxed as the man before her was someone she easily recognized.

"Sp…"

John placed his fingers on his lips for a gesture of silence as he looked about and then allowed her inside his shop. It was expected that she would act like that, after all this was the second time that she was going to see him face to face without his helmet on. However, this was going to be the first time she saw him without the armor on and only wearing simple clothes. Once they were in the shop, Diana looked the place over and spoke to him.

"Cortana told me to come here to meet a friend of yours, but now I see that she was actually referring to the two of you, I was a bit caught off guard by that."

"Cortana has a way of doing that, this is our base of operations here on the surface, when she mentioned that we had a friend here in the city, I already knew that she was referring to the two of us here in New York. It would make sense though since Cortana was the one who bought this place and set everything up for me when we needed to stay on the ground."

"I see but I must admit that I've never seen a place like this before, what is this place?"

"This is a vehicle customization shop; I work undercover here on the surface as a fabricator for custom made cars and the like for legitimate people and clean businesses. I don't work for corrupt people or organizations. It's nice to see that you've made it, now we can get to work on helping you settle down here in Man's world in your own civilian cover if you so wish."

The Amazon decided to follow the Spartan as he led her to the second floor just as Cortana arrived on site and smiled at Diana.

"Hey there Diana, how are you doing?"

Diana smiled and replied.

"I am fine, though I have to admit that all of this moving about in secret is a bit new to me."

The A.I smiled and replied.

"Can't be helped you know, keeping things a secret is key to avoid revealing too much about yourself. Besides, if the public here in New York found out that not only is their city being watched over by the Spartan, but by Wonder Woman, then who knows what that might lead to. You might not be able to learn much about the world of men if everyone knows you're here. A few changes can fix that right away."

"Changes?"

John replied to that.

" A change of clothes for one, as well as a slightly different hairstyle in order to make it less easy for those nearby to see you as Wonder Woman. Not to mention a place of residence…Cortana and I can fix that for you along with a few other matters."

Diana was surprised by these acts of generosity from her fellow League members, and she had to admit that it might help make being in Man's world and learning what was about it that a lot easier for her. She could not help but smile somewhat at the help she was getting though she would have preferred to do things on her own. That was why she decided to tell them her thoughts on the matter.

"I appreciate what you are doing for me Cortana, and the same goes for you as well Spartan, but I believe that I will be in good hands."

John then replied.

"Cortana and I are not trying to imply something negative Princess Diana, we merely offer support if you so wish it, if you wish to learn about man's world as you call it on your own terms, then that is all right by us."

Cortana nodded as well.

"I guess I can agree with the Chief there, it's your call Diana."

The Amazon thought over what the two had told her and she realized that it would be rude to turn them down; they were giving their time to help her learn more about man's world. They were willing to provide her with means that could make the whole process less complicated for her and that meant that they were putting a lot of their own time into this. Besides, they were not just her team mates, but her friends as well. Cortana was her friend and was someone she could talk to well enough, and the Spartan was more than respectful to her as well as someone she respected for all that he had been through and admired for his fighting skills as well as his honor.

"I apologize if I sounded if I was refusing your help without consideration, it's just that I am not really used to such things being done for me. I usually prefer to do things on my own back in Themyscira."

Cortana laughed gently and replied.

"None taken Diana, so if you are ready, I think the first course of action is to get you some clothes that can be useful for you to wear when out in public when wearing your costume is not the best of ideas. Naturally you will get to choose your clothes and John will be the one to shop for you."

That statement made John raise his eyebrows a bit as he replied.

"You want me to do that? You realize that it might look odd for a man to be seen going into a clothing store and buying women's clothes?"

"Well it's not like Diana can go in there dressed in her usual choice of uniform, it'll cause a heck of a ruckus in that said clothing store."

John conceded and decided to get some money from his bank account that would be needed for the buying of clothes for the Amazon princess. He only hoped that the clothes that he was going to buy was enough for her. He knew that as an Amazon, Diana was not exactly the kind of woman who was familiar with modern fashion, and he didn't even want to guess what she would think of the clothes worn by the women today. But if it could help her get used to being in the world of men, why not?

"All right, but before I go, I need to take a look at Diana's exact measurements first so that when I go to buy those clothes, I buy the clothes that she will be comfortable in when she wears them. This will not take too long either."

John was right in that regard as he looked at Diana from head to foot and the Amazon did not mind as she had an idea as to why that was necessary. Most men would have enjoyed ogling a beautiful woman, and Diana was no exception to the rule as she was very much a beautiful woman. But John was a practical man as well as having a duty in helping Diana adjust to being in a civilian disguise. As soon as he was done, he bade them farewell and headed off to get some money to buy the clothes.

This left Diana with Cortana as the A.I spoke to the Amazon.

"Now that John's out of the base, we should focus on a few other matters.

"Such as?"

"Well, a place to stay for one, there are some good places in both New York to stay in, and outside of it as well if you want to be elsewhere. We have managed to earn a good deal of money so we can purchase you a good place to be in and we can set up an account to pay for anything you might need to pay for while there. Trust me, living by yourself is not very nice if you don't have a lot of good incoming, but that can wait, let's go house shopping."

Cortana activated the nearby computer console and brought up an image of New York and brought it up for Diana to see. There they were going to look about for a viable place for Diana to take root in, as well as some other places around the map. Diana however decided that since she already know John and Cortana who resided here in New York, she might as well stay close to them as she spoke.

"Maybe a place closer to you would be better, that is if it's not too much trouble for both of you?"

Cortana smiled and replied.

"Not at all, I think that it saves us a load to things to work out that would take too long for us to do in the first place. There are some good places here for you to set up and considering that New York is a serious melting pot of cultures due to the people who live here, you can learn a lot of things here Diana."

The Amazon appreciated that as they began to look for a house for her, with Cortana explaining a number of things to her as best as she could. The things she was able to grasp was enough to tell Diana that being with Cortana and John in New York and having them around to help her was by far the best choice she made since coming to Earth after spending some time getting used to the Watch Tower.

…

In the clothing store, John was already wishing he was never in the place as a number of people were looking at him. Some of the people in question were the female staff workers, and the others were the male staff who were of a different…'orientation'. More than once a few of the more…risk taking female staff had tried to get a bit too close to him as well as offer to model some of the clothes for him…in private. The men however steered clear of him though he knew that they were not looking away that much either.

He didn't have much against such people as such preferences were known to exist in the UNSC even though he never met any. At the moment he decided to buy some regular clothes, the kind that could be worn every day, but Cortana also insisted when she contacted him on the Warthog to buy Diana some good party dresses that would be useful for her to wear on party occasions if she decided to socialize.

That naturally included some of the usual items a woman would have on hand for such occasions and that made his day all the more difficult. It was a good thing that Cortana's wily skills in analysis worked well in finance which was why the money they had was going to be worth it and enough for this buying of items.

As he bought the clothes, he was lucky that he was able to get Diana's exact body measurements into memory so he was able to locate the right clothes that would fit her and be comfortable on her. That however was going to be judged by the woman herself and no doubt Cortana once he got back. As soon as he was done, he moved to the cashier and paid for the clothes he had purchased and took the change that he was planning to keep as cash on hand.

There were some shirts, sweaters, blouses, long skirts, knee high skirts, jeans, pants, jackets, stockings, comfortable socks, and four different party dresses with one in deep black, one in red, the other in red and black, and the other in white with golden thread patterns. That came also with some shoes for both normal everyday things and high heels as well. The clothes were from cotton, wool, and silk as well. He hoped that these were enough.

The cashier whistled at the amount of clothes and the payment and she spoke to him.

"That's a lot of clothes sir, are these for a friend?"

"Yes."

"A VERY close friend by any chance sir?"

For once, the Spartan wished he had an answer to that.

It took him a while but he was now able to get all the clothes packed away on the back of the Warthog and secured as he headed back to base. He could only hope that he was not going to hear this from any of his new clients who were going to come down on him and ask questions. That was on his mind though not for very long as he soon arrived back into his base. He took the clothes and locked down his Warthog and took the clothes in.

As he got inside, he headed up and saw Diana and Cortana discussing what appeared to be a nice looking house that was a two story one as well. He gave a slight cough to get their attention and Cortana smiled at the amount he had brought back.

"Wow, you really brought in a haul John."

John shrugged and replied.

"I figured having a good selection is needed, besides, if some don't meet Princess Diana's approval I can always send them back since I have the receipts."

Diana looked at the boxes and decided to look at them, she did not have any trouble and saw the clothing. They were certainly different from the clothing that she used to wear back in Themyscira, but they were going to have to be her clothes for her time here. They however felt nice so the turned to John and spoke to him with a smile.

"You bought these for me, thank you very much, it feels a bit odd for me to say that, but doing this for me was a kind gesture."

John nodded and replied.

"Think nothing of it Princess Diana, those are now yours and if you need to, I'll have them taken to a good laundry service if they need cleaning."

As soon as the clothing was removed from the packages for a temporary fitting, Cortana told John that Diana had decided to settle in New York City, namely in the area of Queens and in Forest Hills Gardens area, a fair but very much easy distance to reach their base which was near Manhattan itself. The house was well maintained and already Cortana was working on getting the house bought and paid for. Naturally they would divert a portion of their funds to help Diana set up there for now until she has made other plans.

It was not long before Diana decided to try some clothing on, namely wearing a white cotton sweater, light green pants and simple sandals. She appeared before the two with her hair in a ponytail and a cloth belt to hold her hair together and her tiara off of her head. She looked at them expectantly and asked them what they thought of the change.

"What do you think?"

Cortana smiled warmly and replied.

"Really nice, classy and simple, but on you Diana, very attractive, I guess even if not in your uniform, you can really turn some heads, right John?"

The Spartan looked at Diana as she was still in her civilian garb and said nothing at first and after a moment or two replied in a very respectful manner.

"You look very nice Princess Diana."

Cortana snorted a bit and replied.

"Really John, you could be a bit more complimenting to Diana you know."

The Spartan looked a bit worried by that which did not escape Cortana's notice and even the Amazon's as he replied.

"I don't mean to sound offensive or anything…I've never judged a woman's choice clothing before...ever."

Diana knew that John was being honest and that was good enough for her as she smiled at him.

"It's all right Spartan, I am happy with what you have said, you were honest to me and I like that a lot."

That made John relax a bit more as he did not want to offend, as even with his abilities, he knew that Diana was a lot more capable than he might be some areas. And for some reason the way she smiled at him seemed to stir something in… he did not know what, but it passed just as quickly so he discounted it for now.

Cortana however noted that sudden change in her Spartan's demeanor and decided to record that just to make sure she did not miss it and review for a much later date. It was here that John asked Diana a very simple but also just as important question.

"How do you plan to change into your outfit in a hurry?"

Diana thought it over and recalled a special trick that her mother had taught her as well as one of her mentors back in her younger days in Themyscira. She moved around in a spin and as soon as she began to blur, out came a slight flash of light through magic she appeared with the room not damaged but her in her full uniform with the tiara there on her as well as her lasso. That was enough to make John raise an eyebrow and Cortana to laugh a bit more.

"There, does that answer your question Spartan?"

John nodded at that and Cortana replied.

"Oh yeah, I think that answers the question perfectly, so how do you plan to change back, the reverse of what you just did?"

Diana nodded and spun in the reverse direction and the same thing happen though she was now back to wearing her civilian garb. That was more than enough to satisfy the two members of the UNSCDF as they decided to let her try on the other clothes as well as the shoes to see if they were to her liking..

They all were and with that done, John decided to help with hauling the clothes over to Diana's place once they made the purchase and Cortana was able to do all the much needed paper work that would finally place the house she had picked under her name. That however brought up a concern to John.

"Hold it, we can't write Diana of Themyscira on the document, that might attract attention."

Diana did not understand why that was a topic of concern.

"Why? What's wrong with using my name?"

Cortana then explained.

"You're name's all right Diana, it's just that usually there are what you call middle initials and family names in the names used here in public. Just like we use a full name here to hide John's real name and character, you might need one since using only one name is not only strange, but might attract attention."

Diana was surprised by this and asked the question in her mind.

"Is this normal in man's world?"

John answered her question easily.

"That depends on the nation and culture, some areas use full names while others are all right with less elaborate names, and at times, no names at all. But here in the US, I know they prefer a full name to be used on any documentation that is to be legally binding. Cortana can make a very effective one that they cannot easily crack but even that needs a full name."

Cortana and the others remained silent for a moment or two until Cortana decided on this one.

"How about Diana Prince? That could work."

Diana thought it over and figured that it could work for what she needed.

"All right, I can work with that."

Cortana smiled and decided to work on the documentation immediately. As soon as she was done, which was only at five seconds, the documents were not fully logged into the international database and legally confirmed. Now all they had to was claim the house for Diana so she could now start her civilian identity as Diana Prince, resident of New York City's Queens area. One thing was sure in his mind, the very second Diana went to being Wonder Woman, things in New York were going to get a heck of a lot more interesting.

…

Two weeks later…

Diana was getting used to this civilian cover that was made for her by both Cortana and John, and she had admitted that this was a helpful way to see how the world of man worked without having to deal with people quickly recognizing her. The disguises helped her avoid being easily recognized as Wonder Woman and even allowed her to see just what sort of men lived in this world beyond Themyscira. So far she had seen a number of men who matched the things that her mentors had told her, much to her disgust and worry as to why there were such men like them in this world.

Some of the things she had seen from the women also served to confuse her even more, she could not understand why was it some women were willing to dress themselves in some strange fashions, use make-up, perfumes and more to attract men. The Amazon in her was wondering just what was it about men that made women this determined to get their attention, using their wiles on them and the like. She was also not happy how some women were not willing to defend themselves when attacked by some of the less scrupulous men that she had seen and met in her time here on Earth. There were also actions of violence and corruption that she did not like along with how men would at times abuse women as well. All of this told her that her people's teachings were at times correct when it came to men.

And there were times that some men tried to accost her but she was able to beat them off though not at full strength as doing so would arouse too many questions, as was suggested by Cortana when she and the A.I spoke about such things possibly happening. She had no problems as she had received plenty of combat training to do just that though she made sure to convince them as best she could to leave her be. Some did that while others did not, and it was the later who got their proverbial butts kicked by the disguised Amazon.

…

.However, not all the things she saw in Man's world were bad, she witnessed a number of good people as well who showed noble qualities as well. She met and saw men who despite suffering the loss of a limb continue to compete and win both recognition and respect despite their physical wounds. She saw others who had turned away from violence and the use of drugs, money, and more to make a more positive end to their lives. They would help give youth a better future through sports and education, turning them away from drugs, gangs, and violence to make better people of themselves. She saw people of faith dedicate their time in helping not just the people and youth in their community but also around the world.

She saw the soup kitchens there that fed the poor and unemployed and when she asked John why that was happening, he replied that there were usually lines that separated the rich and poor from one another. It was hard for her to see such things, but she had some compensation to see people who were more than willing to give clothes, food, medicine, and even simple words of encouragement and support to them. These were both men and women as well so she could see that men were not always bad.

She saw this even more when she saw families in parks in New York being happy together, children playing and parents being happy with not just their children but with each other. These things were very surprising and somewhat interesting to the Amazon as she observed the things happening before them all. She still did have her doubts about men but due to her upbringing, but she had to admit that there were things about men that were certainly good to see.

She would also talk to John and Cortana about these things, and why is it like that, both her friends were willing to talk to her about it and help her if needed. This cemented the friendship even more between her and the two. Cortana was able to make her laugh and help her learn more about things in Man's world, both good and bad. While John helped her in that same situation as well as in other areas like dealing with some of the many technological things that were there and not commonly found on Themyscira. This was a way for her to get used to seeing the many things that she saw.

She also got a present from John, and that was a custom built ride of her own. It was a Warthog design but was made to have special bullet resistant panels both in the front and on the opening doors that opened on hinges by the crossbar area between the two seats. The ride was a bit lower in elevation so she would not have to with the height of the vehicle itself. The baseline blueprint of the vehicle was the same as the Warthog but was the Arctic version without the threads used for snow combat.

It was well armored and was more of a military vehicle type but was made less so by the simple light purple scheme and the less militaristic lines. John had taken the parts from the Dawn and had the vehicle built to handle Diana's strength and abilities. And Cortana naturally had the vehicle registered as Diana's own personal ride. John naturally was requested by Cortana to take her how to drive the vehicle so she would not have to worry about it too much. Diana was willing to try it out and that made John's job a load easier.

It was not easy as driving was not something that Diana had ever learned with the exception of riding a horse back on Themyscira or riding one of the triremes that patrolled Themyscira's territorial waters and prevented people from finding them. But she was a quick learner and with both John and Cortana teaching her, she was able to grasp how to drive it out in the open easily and in the urban areas as well. It too only responded to Diana which was a bit of a bonus in the mind of the Amazon.

…

She also was exposed to a number of different cultures there since her area was so diverse in many ways. Themyscira was diverse in it's own way, but this New York was indeed diverse and after learning from her friends about New York's history, both good and bad she could see why there were so many cultures that called New York home. The art there was not the same as Themyscira but she did find the art intriguing as well along with surprising. The food was also surprising as there were so many cultures and people living in New York from different cultures and races that the Amazon scarcely knew where to begin.

Naturally from time to time, Diana would partake in stopping some crimes in New York in her uniform and using her new code name of Wonder Woman. And at times, she and John would work together in foiling some major attempts by criminals, one being the attempted bombing of City Hall by a few anarchists trying to cause trouble.

And this had a number of interesting results., namely in the sense that people in New York were now aware that they now had not just the Spartan watching over them, but Wonder Woman as well.

The sight of John and Diana in their respective gear, fighting crime either separately or together had surprised and delighted a rather large number of native New Yorkers. There were naturally newspapers about the arrival of Wonder Woman in the city as well as her alliance with the Spartan who was already residing in New York as it's residential hero.

Many of them said that if Metropolis had Superman, if Gotham had Batman and his young allies, if Dakota had Static and Gear, and if Central City had Flash, then New York had it's own Wonder Woman and the Spartan as it's heroes.

The rumors surrounding the two were just as vocal, some news papers said that they were friends, and associates, others that they were siblings, and some even suggested that they were intimate. Cortana laughed at that a great deal while John could not help but sigh and shrug, while Diana did not take it too seriously and actually found it amusing to say the least. While some she met in the city on a few occasion had remarked that she looked somewhat like Wonder Woman, Diana played along to keep her identity as a secret. Some groups of people even began to try and ask them to work in TV shows when they were done helping the police or emergency services, which both of them turned down.

…

Naturally however, there were those who did not think kindly of the two, there were already those who did not like the Spartan, even more so with him in the Justice League. But when she showed up, she too was being targeted. Some of the detractors were from TV, radio, and newspapers, and others were just trying to get famous. It confused Diana as to why they would act like this and Cortana replied that it was to be expected.

People usually feared that they did not understand well enough when they do not want to take risks, others would be jealous, some did it for recognition, others out of a warped sense of right, and the others did it for kicks. John himself ignored them and said that he had dealt with worse names. However that didn't mean that some of the actions and words of the detractors did not offend the two friends of the Amazon. She admired them for showing such restraint, and they even prevented her from doing something rash when some of the said rumors offended her.

Why that was the case was due to the fact that some of the detractors were aiming at her origins and that was not the wisest of ideas in any Amazon's mind, even more so as she was the Amazon princess.

Still those who supported them were there to counter those detractors, which was able to give a good feeling to the Amazon as she continued to do her part to learn about man's world. At least there were people who were willing to stand up against those who would lie just for their selfish reasons.

…

The Watch Tower…

John guided the Pelican into the Hanger Bay and both he and Diana came out of the transport to head into the Tower. Diana had been able to use the teleporter module that both he and Cortana had provided her with. As they got there, Diana was able to spend some time chatting with Cortana and also see John go through the shooting range to keep his marksmanship skills to their best level when Cortana called them that Batman was asking them to come to the Watch Tower.

And now here they were and they were now curious as to what was the emergency. Once they arrived at the main area of the Watch Tower, they spotted Batman who was currently running some of the systems as Cortana appeared on John's left palm, she leaped off and took her Human sized Avatar form as John greeted Batman.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"I came in to do some Monitor Duty to relieve J'onn but apparently no one was here in the Tower, I'm trying to find out how that happened."

Diana was instantly confused and spoke.

"Where would the others have gone?"

"I'm not sure, one of the Javelins is not in the hanger bay and that tells me something happened, you have anything on your end Cortana?"

The A.I shook her head.

"Nothing yet, I'm already relocating one of the Black Widow satellites that we have outside the system…hold up. I'm picking up an incoming transmission…it matches the COM frequencies on the communication units you issued to the others. That must mean that we're about t find out what is going on."

Sure enough the communications system on the Watch Tower told Bruce that an incoming call was here, checking it out and seeing that it was Superman's communication frequency, he patched it in. The monitor came online before the assembled heroes and there was indeed Superman, the Kryptonian then spoke to the others in a relieved tone.

"Nice to see you guys made it, sorry for not being there on the Tower when you came in, but something came up. A band of machines going by the name of Man Hunters came here for Lantern; we had no idea why so we got into a battle with them. Stewart appeared and told us to stop and let them take him."

That made Diana and Bruce look at Superman in surprise and the same was there in Cortana's face. Why would Stewart not resist these Man Hunters at all? What reason did he have and who would send the Man Hunters after Stewart in the first place?

John was confused and spoke to Superman to try and find out just what was going on and how did Lantern fit into the whole mess itself. He had no idea what these Man Hunters were but from what he was able to guess they were similar to trackers and hunters and judging by how they had restrained Lantern, they were bounty hunters at that.

"These Man Hunters took Lantern and he didn't resist them? Did you find out why?"

"Yes, believe it or not, Stewart's being accused of causing the destruction of a planet named Ajuris 4, and killing all of it's people. He's currently on trial here in Ajuris 5 and it is nasty here. If the court does find him guilty of the crime, they are going to execute him."

That surprised everyone in the room, even Cortana as she appeared from John's hand and took her human form as she was not pleased with this.

"That can't possibly be right, Stewart's supposed to be a Green Lantern and they are peace keepers first and foremost, and his record in the Marine Corps speaks highly of his integrity as well."

"I know Cortana, but John admits that he is guilty."

Diana was surprised even more, while she was not on good terms with the Green Lantern, she was not in bad enough terms with him either.

"Why would he say that he is guilty?"

Superman quickly filled them in on what was going on and the facts thus far, Cortana ran some calculations and once she was done with what she had been given, she spoke to the Kryptonian.

"That makes even less sense, the data says that while the Power Rings used by Green Lanterns can indeed destroy things that are within the imagination and will of their user, the act of destruction does not fit the MO of both the Green Lantern Corps and that of Stewart as well. The best way to prove that Stewart did not do this is to go to the planet itself, there as to be ruins and debris that can provide clues. Not to mention checking out if the detonation had any effect on nearby celestial bodies."

Superman nodded at the information handed to him.

"Will do Cortana, J'onn and I will go to the planet's supposedly empty location and do what you've suggested, if we find anything that proves otherwise, we'll exonerate John even if he believes deeply that he is responsible."

"What about Hawkgirl and Flash?"

"Hawkgirl's trying to find others from the Corps to try and defend their comrade, but it might not be easy for her to convince them with words. They seem pretty much against John for now, though there might be a few among them who can rise to John's defense, though who that might be is still unknown to us. As for Flash…we had him stall the trial any possible way he can without resorting to outright interference."

Batman raised an eyebrow and spoke.

"You didn't ask him to be John's defense lawyer did you?"

Superman looked sheepishly for a moment and replied.

"We didn't have much in terms of options. There's more to this than it seems, I can feel it in my gut, though I could be wrong about that as well."

John replied.

"Chief Mendez always said to us to go with your gut, you'd be surprised how it can turn out to be right."

Superman smiled a bit at the statement and nodded.

"Will do, but you guys will have to hold the fort until we get back. We'll make it back as soon as we can find out just who is framing Lantern for something he did not do and why, even if he does say that he did the crime."

As soon as that communication link was over, the Spartan turned to look at the two other heroes who he was with right now and spoke to them.

"Looks like we're holding the fort for sure on our own here, Cortana, can you handle any monitoring duties here on the Watch Tower?"

Cortana nodded with a smile, this kind of duty was well suited to her various abilities and she could easily monitor every corner of the globe and determine the severity of each major emergency that may crop up. She knew that with only John, Diana, and Bruce to keep Earth safe, they were very short handed, even with Batman's family of batgirl, Night wing, and Robin. Still, she was going to do her best to make sure that any and all help that could be sent was on hand for the people of Earth.

"I can handle that easily enough Chief; I'll help monitor Earth and outer space from either the Watch Tower or the Dawn. This should free you all to do what you can and if you decide to bring anyone else into the fold, I can coordinate with them as well."

Batman had to agree that this was a better option; Cortana may not have revealed all of her abilities as a Smart A.I as she called herself to him, but the abilities she had already revealed to him were impressive and not to be wasted. Her abilities to communicate to the Chief regardless of distance would be invaluable, along with others armed with communications gear that she could easily use would be indeed helpful in giving them a chance to operate more effectively considering how shorthanded they were. He did however have backup in mind as well as know a few heroes who could come and help them out.

"I can have Night Wing, Batgirl, and Robin to handle things in Gotham and be ready to move if I need to get back here to the Watch Tower or to the Dawn and help out in the mission. I also know of some other heroes around the world who might be able to help us out."

Diana raised an eyebrow at that.

"Who exactly do you mean?"

Batman remained silent for a moment but replied to that.

"They happen to be well known heroes but are not that famous yet, I've worked with them before and I know that they are good people. It might be a bit much to ask them away from their turf, but they will be willing to help."

Cortana smiled at that.

"Nice to know we're not going to be the only ones keeping house, so John, I guess we should get down to the business of holding for fort until the other Leaguers get back here after freeing Lantern."

"I know. First things first though, a change of weapons is in order, plus a need to pick up some supplies for this sort of thing."

…

To be continued…

….

Author's Notes:

Now then, at least this one has been added and squared away and as such I hope that this will be a good parting gift before I take my leave.

It's not much, I will admit but I decided that I can try taking advantage of the fact that in some episodes of the Justice League, some of the members are missing in them. I figured that I can use that to my advantage when it comes to making the Master Chief's back-story as well as some original chapters apart from some personal ones. Besides, with time being short I figured a less word intensive story was in order before I am going to leave for my temporary home until the demolition is over and I can have my new house again and I can finally relax and get back to cranking out more chapters to boot.

I always wondered just what was Diana doing after the whole incident with the Imperium and the formation of the Justice League and why was it she was not present in the episode 'In Blackest Night'. So I figured I make a chapter dedicated to her finding a civilian identity so she could be in a better chance of knowing all of Man's world. Naturally the Master Chief and Cortana will be helping her out in setting herself up in the world of men and this will allow Diana to get a bit closer to John.

As you have read, John has not only provided her a place to stay with Cortana's help, as well as some clothes to help her, but also provide her with a custom built ride of her own and a bank account to use if she needs to do so. I plan to expand that a bit more to make sure that while she is there, Diana will be able to find an occupation that could give her a source of income so she can be able to sustain herself, I'll look for a workable one on my time in the dark okay?

I decided that Diana will use the very same spinning technique I've seen in the old cartoons and some movies as well as the series that I saw as a kid as her way to transform from civilian garb to full uniform. She did the same thing in Unlimited in the episode 'Another Shore' so I decided to have it brought in early to help her with the whole time of being among men instead of her armor.

Naturally she will not always agree to it and will at times wander the world in her uniform which like anything else can attract less than gentle attention from the men, though one can guess the outcome of that. This will also be present in the episode we know as Fury though after her time with John and Cortana in New York, you can bet that she will have a much different view of men much earlier than she did in the original story. Will John by taken out by the virus? Maybe he might. And if he does get infected how will that affect his friendship with Diana?

We'll see soon enough won't we?

…

Just so you all know, I will strive to do better work in my time in the dark so when I do come back, I might surprise you.

…

Thank you for your long time patronage of my work, giving your honest opinions, suggestions, reviews, and more.

Make no mistake, this is not the end…

As quoted by one of my people's foreign heroes Douglas MacArthur:

'I Shall Return!'


	8. Chapter 8

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to DC or Bungie, so don't bother bringing it up…

Chapter 5

Part 1

Holding the Fort

( ): Thoughts

…

In New York…

John was currently working on a new car design for a customer, so far the crime scene in New York was manageable and did not require him or Diana to get directly involved. This was due to the fact that they had managed to bust a large number of drug trafficking rings in the city and provided the NYPD with a good number of files that could help them root out the pushers, suppliers, and the ones who provided them protection from the law.

This had given the police a lot of ammunition to punch holes into the operations of the criminal elements in the city. And this led to him working on his civilian cover and this allowed him to deal with other matters. He had lost some customers when he shut down during the invasion, but he had worked to get that reputation back. He also had to deal with some gangs and thugs trying to get into his shop on more than one instance.

He had no problem beating them off, but it annoyed him that he had these guys to deal with. Not that they were threats to him and Cortana at all, but they were annoyances that he could do without. He had to deal with them in a more serious fashion when some of them would not take the hint and leave him be and that usually resulted in a lot of pain for the people in question.

That was when Cortana spoke to him on the special communications device that he had on his right ear while he was working on the fuel intake system on the car.

"Hey there John, you all right?"

"Good so far, what's up?"

"You got an incoming call from Diana, seems like she's in need of some repairs on the Warthog you gave her."

"All right, patch her through."

He didn't have to wait long while moving to load in the new parts when Diana spoke to him.

"Chief, are you there?"

"Right here Princess Diana, you need something repaired on the Warthog?"

"Yes, I think that some parts are not responding properly and I figured I need to have them checked out."

"All right then, head over here to the shop and let me take a good look at it."

"All right, I appreciate what you are doing for me, this is still taking some getting used to, I normally rode horses back in Themyscira."

"I see, I'll go and get things ready, I am about done with this latest order anyway."

John moved the vehicle he was working on aside as it was still on a special lifting cradle and as soon as he was told by the scanners that Diana had arrived in her ride, he opened the gate door to allow her to drive the Warthog he had made for her in. As soon as the vehicle arrived, the Amazon got off the vehicle and smiled at him in greeting. The Amazon princess was dressed in a simple red cotton shirt with long sleeves and simple pants with comfortable shoes with her hair in a simple ponytail, but even in such simple clothing she still looked to be a super model. And John had no doubt that there had been men who had looked at her with less then pure ideas and intentions. He however had no doubt in his mind that the very second that they were going to try something on her, they were going to regret it. He placed those thoughts aside for the moment and focused on what was it that Diana needed.

Diana walked up to him and spoke once more.

"Nice to see that you are doing rather well for yourself Spartan, how is Cortana?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

The A.I soon showed herself to Diana from a nearby holo-tank that was disguised as a planning table, the A.I smiled in greeting to Diana as she had not been around in a while.

"Nice to see that you have arrived Diana, how is your foray into Man's world?"

Diana gave a sigh and replied.

"I am learning, but still, there are so many things about the world of men that can be really confusing."

John then replied.

"It's not surprising that some things can be rather confusing, at any rate, I'll let you two talk over there while I work on your ride."

John did exactly that and went to work, allowing the two women to talk a bit more, Cortana moved her Avatar to the side while Diana followed her, and once they were there, they began to talk about the Amazon's experiences in the world of men. Cortana had to admit that talking to Diana was a good thing and she found the 'innocence' of the Amazon Princess to be somewhat interesting and she was more than willing to talk about what she knew about the world of men. Diana likewise found Cortana to be a good friend, even if she was not an actual living person and her humor was appreciated as well as her genius and understanding. While they were talking, she turned to see just how the Spartan was doing.

She still found the man interesting to her and the fact that he was not like what her people said about men added to the mystery and interest. He was intelligent and focused as well as having a strong sense of intensity when he needed to be focused on a matter that was of prime importance. But when he was not being focused and was confident, he was at totally different person, unlike the whirlwind of power and skill that she had seen when he had been fighting alongside them. There were men that validated what her mentors had told her about, but there were men who she had met and seen who were the polar opposite and showed things that she had once thought would not be found in men.

John decided to remove his shirt for the moment, uncaring for the fact that Diana and Cortana were in the area as he was focused on working on the Warthog, once he did so, he went back to work, unaware that his actions did not go unnoticed by the two when they turned to see how he was doing.

Cortana had seen John's scars many times before and while they were very surprising to most if not all people, there was nothing wrong in her mind. She had seen every incident where he had gotten those wounds, shrapnel wounds from exploding ordnance, bullet wounds from Insurrectionist weapons, friendly fire from over excited UNSC personnel, plasma burns from various Covenant weapons, burns from Sentinel weapons, cuts from Needler rounds, and more. She had every scar on his back on her records and knew just how he had gotten them, as well as how close he had been to death every time, and she knew that on the rest of his body were more scars, testament to his life as a Spartan II Commando and defender of the UNSC, and...the hero of all life in their Galaxy.

(By Hera...)

Diana was surprised by the sight of the scars on the Spartan's body, her people were able to heal and recover well due to their magical powers and as such they tended not to notice scars as their healed very quickly after a few hours. The scars were distinct and she could see that they were not illusions of any kind to her eyes, they served to tell her of the life the man had led. It was one thing to see his memories for herself back in the Watch Tower, it was another to see the results of such a life as he had. Due to her warrior upbringing she was well aware that scars would tell how well a warrior had survived and there was no doubt in her mind that John had survived a hellish and demanding life ever since becoming a Spartan II.

The two of them decided to get back to their conversation for the time being until Diana spoke to Cortana.

"He must have been quite a sight in battle."

"John? Yeah, you can bet on that, but I always worry about him, even more so at this moment."

Diana was surprised by that and Cortana could see that as she replied.

"I worry about what would happen once we get back to the UNSC, you already know that he was trained to do what he can to defend humanity, and he did an outstanding job many times over. But what will he do now once the fighting is over? I wonder will he be able to fit in with society and live a different life. I won't lie that he will suddenly change and be a civilian, being in the military is in his blood and every fiber of his being, he will never change lives easily and there will be a part of him that will have a hard time adjusting to peace. Right now he is doing fine and he does adapt well, but I know that thirty years of battles and the memories that go with them don't vanish like that."

Diana looked at Cortana and saw the emotions there, it still amazed her that something like Cortana...a machine could show such care and devotion to another. She was no expert on machines, let alone A.I but she could tell that Cortana's emotions were the real thing and that still made her wonder how the UNSC could create such things. She placed that out of her mind and then spoke to the A.I.

"I think that you are already doing well enough to make him adjust Cortana."

"Maybe, but still, I have no doubt that he would still need to get used to living a more normal life, even if he is in the military and will stay there for the rest of his life, he needs to get out more and socialize with others. He might be a hero in our reality even if he does not see it that way, but sooner or later, being with others is needed for him to be a whole person. That might even help him deal with the people back in the UNSC who still might have issues with him being who and what he is."

"What do you mean?"

Cortana replied to that with a sigh.

"I think that would be a conversation for another time Diana, but I think that it's about time that he got out of the base and enjoyed being out in public, and if you want, you can join him."

Diana was a bit surprised by such a suggestion but decided not to worry about it, and in truth she actually looked forward to such an outing, it had been some time since she had gone with the Spartan out into the city and there were some places that she had not been able to go to yet. And since John had been here in this massive city the longest, he would no doubt know where to go. She smiled at the A.I and replied.

"I think I would like that idea, though I have to admit that while I would like to show him how to live in times of peace, I have no knowledge of the world of men yet, and the idea of being close to a man is not that easy yet for me to take as...normal."

Cortana laughed in very good humor at that and replied.

"Then it's a learning experience for the both of you, something that I think would be a valuable lesson to boot. Besides, since John is the man you seem to be the most comfortable with, then I believe that it would be for the best for both of you, plus having him around might help keep those annoying perverts from getting any ideas."

Diana rolled her eyes at that and replied.

"I have some doubts that it is going to be that simple."

Cortana smirked at that and replied.

"Don't worry, it'll work out, speaking of which I think it's time I pitched my idea to John here, it's about time he got out to do things that are not really that important except for getting to socialize with others."

Sure enough, the Spartan was now wearing his shirt and wiping his hands clean with a nearby rag and was soon meeting them. John however spotted the smile on Cortana's face that was enough to the man that something was cooking the A.I's thought matrix. Whatever it was, he had a feeling that it was not going to be something that he was used to doing.

...

Later...

As the two of them drove into the city, John decided to do what Cortana had asked of him and that was to show Diana some of the other sights of the city that she had not yet gone to and then take her out to the best place to eat. That in itself was an odd request, but he didn't find anything wrong with it either, besides, having been traveling in New York before gave him a good idea. And Cortana did tell him that if anything was going to crop up or if Batman called in a situation, they would be more than ready to respond to that situation if the Dark Knight needed backup or they had to deal with a situation elsewhere in the world. This naturally left the two of them alone and he decided to at least go one place that he was comfortable with and that was a simple but well kept and reputable place.

That one place was the Blarney Stone, a well known place in New York and also near the World Trade Center. It was well known and had been renovated recently and was back to full operational status. John had been there before and while he was no expert on food, the place had an excellent reputation among those who lived there and he hoped that it would be all right for Diana.

Along the way, the Spartan had to deal with a fair share of problems, namely with people looking his ride and along with him and Diana. More than a number of young men began to make calls at Diana when they would stop near a stop light, some were being nice, others less so. But thankfully Diana did not reply and neither did he despite the comments and suggestions that were sent in their direction. Not that Diana was the only one being commented on as he got his fair share of comments from the women as well. This was also directed at their ride and it was only when they were leaving that they were going to have some peace and quiet for now.

As soon as they were within a block or two from the Blarney Stone, they got off the ride and he locked it down while helping Diana off the ride as his Warthog was a bit higher than her own. She smiled at him and they walked together to the small restaurant. Once they came in there, they were greeted by the owners and soon began to enjoy the atmosphere that they were in. Diana ordered some vegetable salad as well as some strip steak, while John ordered steak with mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots. Both of them also ordered iced tea and while John was not used to this, he did not make an issue out of it and took it all in. It was when they had nearly finished their respective meals that a tall and portly man who wore casual but well made clothing came and smiled at them.

"Good day to you, my name is Joe Keane, my brother and I happen to be the owners of the Blarney Stone."

Diana and John turned as the Amazon princess smiled at the man and replied.

"Good day to you as well, my name is Diana Prince."

"Pleasure to meet you then miss Prince, I got to say that I've never had someone who could be a supermodel come into my father's restaurant. How do you and your boyfriend like the food?"

In a different time, Diana would have asked what the term boyfriend meant but thanks to Cortana filling her in on the term, she was able to answer that question.

"Your food is very nice and I have to say that I have not tasted anything like it before, you do your father proud. And if you want my friend's opinion, you should ask him."

John knew that the focus was now on him and he replied truthfully as he found the food to be nice, not the same as some of the chow he had in the UNSC Mess Halls, but certainly a cut above the norm.

"You're food's pretty good, and a lot better in some respects to the food I have eaten."

Joe smiled and replied.

"Then I thank the both of you for coming here, feel free to come by the Blarney Stone when you are in the neighborhood."

As Joe moved off to see to the new customers, Diana looked about and spotted several pictures there and smiled as she could sense that there was a great deal of history in this place and a lot of work and heart was put into it. As she was schooled in the arts of magic though never practiced it herself, she could sense some manner of energy here. It was not dangerous, but had warmth and pride in it. This told her that this place was infused by the strength and pride of it's maker. She then placed those thoughts aside for now as she spoke to the Spartan as she knew that this was a good time for her to get to know him a bit more.

"How do you find this place so far John?"

"It's nice, and no doubt that the previous owner had placed a great deal of pride and hard work here, this is just like the way the immigrants that came here in America. All they had was what they could carry and their hopes and dreams for a better life. That's why they say that New York was built on dreams."

Diana smiled at that as she drank her drink slowly, enjoying it and then spoke.

"There's so many good things and bad things in this world of man...I have to admit that it is interesting indeed."

"I can see that."

"By the way John, I know that this is not something that you might not wish to discuss, but do you remember what your childhood was like before you were taken into the Spartan II Program?"

John looked at Diana and wondered just why she was asking him that question, but he was not offended at all. He had a feeling that this was going to crop up at some point in his time with Diana and since he had already revealed most of his past, there was nothing stopping him from doing it once more with Diana.

"I do, though it's been some time now that I have decided to look back at my life. What exactly do you want to know Diana?"

Diana thought about it and decided to ask something about his mother, not Dr. Halsey, but his real mother.

"I know that this might be...difficult, or offensive, but do you remember you're mother at all?"

John was silent for a moment and then replied.

"I do not remember much exactly, but I do know that she was kind hearted, loving, and smelled of soap."

"Smelled of soap?"

John gave a slight smile, a rare thing in Spartan culture being closed and introverted as they were with some marked exceptions as well, and that was noticed by Diana and she waited to hear what the Spartan was going to say.

"Yes, she smelled of soap, it was a nice smell, but I recall little of her face or her smile, all I know is that I loved her and my father."

"I see...may I ask another question?"

"All right then, go ahead."

"Did you have any siblings?"

"No, I was an only child as I recall, no brothers or sisters."

That saddened Diana a bit at the thought of him being an only child, she could easily imagine the anguish his parents must have had when their child died, unaware that he had been replaced by a clone and was in the military without them knowing. They thought him dead but he was alive and no longer able to come back to them, it was a painful thing for her to imagine, but she tempered that when she recalled what he had become and what he had done to save his universe from destruction and save many lives. That was when John decided that now was the time for him to also ask the Amazon some questions of his own, he was not going to ask too many or too sensitive questions towards Diana, but at least it would level things between them.

"By the way Diana, you mind if I ask you questions as well?"

Diana was surprised by this but she knew that with her asking him questions, it was going to be his turn to ask her questions at some point. Besides, it was not that she disliked talking about her family or her home, if he wanted to know more about her in the same way that she had learned a lot about him, then it would not be a problem.

"Very well, what is it that you want to ask me?"

"What exactly is your position there as Princess of Themyscira?"

"I was one of the best in the island and also would help my mother in managing the day to day affairs of Themyscira, as well as fight in the defense of our home. even if I am a Princess, as an Amazon like all my sisters, I am honor bound to defend my home and my people. If it ever came that my mother might not be able to lead, i would have to assume the role of leader of my people until she recovered."

"Why is that?"

"My people are immortal, at least when we are on the soil of Themyscira, if we leave, we age normally as any person, but as soon as we set foot on Themyscira, our age is restored to them same as when we leave. That is what I have learned from my trainers and teachers when I was young, and that is what I can share since like you, there are some parts of my land that I cannot talk about."

John nodded and spoke after a moment or two.

"What can you tell me of your mother that you can talk about without problems?"

"My mother's name is Hippolyta, she has been the reigning Queen of my people for as long as I can remember, she was a kind but fair and stern woman and also dedicated to defending our home, our people, and our way of life. She raised my herself for many years and personally trained me in a matter of subjects as well and despite her love for me as her daughter, she ensures that I follow the laws of our people by heart. That is why I had some reservations about joining the League when it first formed."

"Because of your culture and the fact that your mother would not approve of it?"

Diana nodded at that and John could see that despite her calm, Diana's decision to remain in man's world as she and her sisters called it might not have sit well when she came back.

"I see, I can't say what she might say, but I think that you will find a way to make things work out."

Diana smiled a bit at the thought and John asked once more.

"I take it that you were the only child your mother had?"

Diana's mood brightened and she shook her head with a smile.

"No, I have a sister, her name is Donna, and believe it or not, we are exactly the same in every fashion though she is younger than I am. You could say that with some differences in age, and hair length, my sister and I are twins. I watched over her when she was growing up along with my mother and I also watch out for her when mother is not around. Like me, Donna is a princess of Themysicra and is also bound by law to help defend our home. Right now, before I left, i know that Donna is studying on the other side of the island in order to finish the last parts of her being considered an adult of our people. We also have an adopted sister named Aresia, she too is a lot older than Donna and should be undergoing her own trials though she is taking a bit longer than Donna. "

John nodded at that and asked his last question.

"Forgive me for asking this, but are you and Donna the only borne Amazons on your homeland?"

Diana nodded.

"I believe so, I asked my mother about that and she said that both Donna and I were born when we all were given blessings by the Gods to be immortal."

John kept that in mind and when they were able to finish the last of their food and paid for their meal, they thanked Joe for the hospitality and headed back to John's ride as their time together had been good and they needed to head back to their public identities. However as they made their way to the Warthog, both of them spotted a number of thugs near the Warthog. The Spartan already guessed that they were trying to take his vehicle from him and do what they could or sell it. Not that they were going to have a lot of luck on that regard as they did not have the ability to take the Warthog for any reason whatsoever. The two knew that a fight was going to happen so they decided to hold back most of their power, John knew his augmentations made him very deadly in close combat while Diana knew that her Amazon strength could easily injure the men, and despite her training and upbringing, she was a pacifist and hoped that these men could be talked down before fists started flying.

However, that idea went down hill the very second they came to the Warthog and the thugs saw them, she quickly spotted them leering at her and she could already guess what was cooking in their undeniably dirty minds. They further reinforced the teachings her people had about men to her. The tallest one of them and the most muscled looked at her and John as the Spartan spoke to them in a very stern manner.

"I'd appreciate it if you step away from the vehicle."

They all sneered and their leader spoke.

"Oh really now? You think you can order me and my gang around?"

"I'm doing this to avoid any unnecessary trouble."

The man walked away and replied.

"Screw you...this is one sweet ride, but we can't seem to use it at all. You give us the keys right now and we leave you alone."

John snorted mentally and replied.

"This is your last chance to walk away."

The men laughed and the leader replied.

"You've got some guts man, if you don't want us to see them on the street then you back off and let us take your ride...and your date. I can bet she can really show us a good time, right boys?"

...

The gang laughed with their boss as they all looked at Diana in a leering way, they knew that as soon as they got the keys and took the lady, they would escape and be free to do what they wanted to both ride and the super model like babe. Unfortunately for the traveling gang, they had made the biggest mistakes of their young lives.

The first to find that out was the tall and muscular guy who had tried to touch Diana, as the Amazon quickly grabbed his hand and with seemingly little effort brought him down to his knees in pain as he spoke.

"Damn you...let go of me you crazy..."

Diana replied by tossing him to some nearby trashcans and replied.

"You asked for it."

The others were stunned at just how easily their friend had been tossed by the supermodel like woman, and that did not sit well with them as they quickly got out their weapons. That was a bad move as John quickly moved in for the kill as he quickly took down two of them with a punch to the face for one and a kick to the chest on the other. Both of them felt like they had been hit by wrecking balls, but they were not aware that the Spartan had actually controlled his strength and power the whole time, had he not, the first thug would have a smashed skull, and the other would have gotten a caved in rib cage.

The next thug tried to go for Diana but she quickly put her training in hand to hand combat to use as she quickly grabbed his arm which had a knife and quickly sent him crashing into the ground face first. She kept herself calm and quickly launched an elbow into the next attacker and sent him crashing to the ground holding his bleeding nose. John was not fair behind as he quickly subdued the last bunch of thugs. Those of the group who tried to fight back were easily knocked out by the two heroes just as the police came on the scene. It did not take long for the police to come in though all of the gang were still aching away in pain after being man handled by the two. Once they cleared everything with the police, they headed back to John's base.

Diana then spoke to him on the way there.

"That was certainly different."

"I know, at least we didn't give ourselves away."

"Still...it was a good day."

John looked at Diana and gave her a nod and that made her smile. But that was going to be cut short as Cortana spoke to them.

"I hate to break this moment up between the two of you, but we need to get to the Watch Tower, Batman's calling in a situation brewing in Africa."

…

Over the continent of Africa…

John and Diana looked over the continent for a brief moment and wondered just what was really going on down there as they were currently flying there inside a Javelin. The new transports were armed with some weapons but they were only going to be activated if needed. John had allowed some UNSC/Forerunner technology to be placed into the Javelins to make them a lot more effective. This included an improved armor skin for a better survival rate and protection level. They were also armed with a stationary built Bubble Shield Generator for an added layer of protection and had a supply of Bio-salve in a dispenser as well as a small but well supplied and equipped medical bay if they needed to stabilize one another. The Watch Tower had been given a much larger array of functions that were the same thing in the Javelins. However, they were a lot larger and actually had a UNSC/Forerunner assembly system on board for spare parts and whatnot as well as a fully staffed medical bay and even to clone limbs and organs if needed. Naturally the idea of cloning full beings was not to be attempted and Cortana made sure that the access data for such a facility was with her.

The Watch Tower also acquired a shield generator to defend it further and keep it from being damaged along with better reinforced armor plating as well as defense from radiation and space born debris of all sizes.

There was also a training center mirrored like the one in CASTLE base for John and the others to use as well as a firing range and armory, all under lock down. Batman did not like the idea but decided to allow it as most of the weapons were tuned for John to use and he was the only one of them to use them. The Huragok and a few Sentinels were added for routine repair and maintenance while the Sentinels would act as a temporary defensive support force if the Watch Tower was attacked.

Bruce had called in reports of villagers in the African continent being relocated from their homes by unknown people, and while there was some documentation that legalized it, he had a feeling that there was something going on there that was not normal. The fact that there seemed to be no response from any local of foreign news services along with no word of complaint from the leaders of these villages in question added more weight to his mind that something was going on. John had no idea what was going on down there, but he knew that it was not going to be good news all that much considering the history of conflict Africa had both in his universe and even here.

(At least some things remain the same no matter what universe you are in.)

"I heard that John."

Cortana said as she was currently accompanying the two while a copy of her minded the shop back there in the Dawn. At the moment, John was armed with the MA5C and a SRS99D AM S2 Sniper Rifle, along with a Combat Knife, several Frag Grenades as well as some special Grenades for unique and non lethal take downs, and a M6G Magnum, though they were not the regular kind. They had been upgraded to fire a special taser round that had been made by Cortana. These rounds were similar to TTRs but contained a special charged gelatin like substance that mimicked an electric eel but with lower electrical power. These rounds were like a bullet version of a Police or Military issued Taser Gun to take down foes. John balanced this new brand of rounds with standard TTRs and the regular lethal ammunition. He hoped that he would not have to resort to them for now, but better to be ready for anything.

"I know, do we have any other contacts in the location?"

"Just one...one Mari Jiwe McCabe, she's got some history as she came from a village like the ones that have disappeared, she uses some form of totem power from her amulet, I know it sounds odd John but that is in the file I have on her, to take on the power of animals except the ones that fly. She also happens to be quite the member in the fashion model industry so you can bet that she is not going to be ordinary looking. She's mostly working in Africa from time to time as well as other places in the world and is based in America. Her codename is Vixen and it seems to fit her just as well both in personality and looks so watch yourself."

"Haha, how do we contact her?"

"I took care of that, I managed to send her a file on her personal computer and she's taken an interest already on the case, apparently someone managed to send word of what happened to the villagers to her and she was already gearing up to go there though that was at least three days ago. I told her to meet you at the site of the last village that had it's people relocated, we could find clues there. But since the Javelin is not exactly the most stealthy of choices, we all are going to have to go on foot."

John nodded as he guided the Javelin, taking a quick course on how to use the Javelin as it was new to him, he passed it well and now as they were close to the village, the Spartan left it on autopilot to head back to the Watch Tower once they were clear. He leaped down first and quickly scanned the village to find any possible hostiles as Diana came down with him. The second they came there to the ground, the Javelin took off and headed back to the Watch Tower. It was here that he spotted something on his Motion Sensor, he looked with his MJOLNIR's advanced scanners and spotted the one they were supposed to meet.

Vixen or Mari McCabe was as what Cortana had described and was attractive, short black hair, a face and figure to be model material, and carried herself well as a fighter and model. The choice of costume was no doubt used to make men think that she was harmless at first glance and get hold of their basic instincts, allowing her to use that her advantage. She also appeared to be physically fit as wel, no doubt due to her dual lifestyle as a model and heroine, the costume also seemed to have built in claws, no doubt to take advantage of her close combat skills. John however did not let that get in the way of seeing her as an ally. Despite his military upbringing telling him not to bring either Diana or Vixen into a possible fire fight as they were civilians, he kept in mind that their abilities set them apart very well. He then spoke to the woman in question.

"You're Vixen I take it?"

Mari nodded and replied.

"You're the Spartan and she's Wonder Woman, I've seen you two on the TV when that invasion went down. I also saw in my computer that you have a file on what was going on and planned to help me out in fidning out about the villagers being relocated in odd ciscumstances. I guess that since you both are from New York and nowhere from here, I should welcome you to Africa, such as it is."

Wonder Woman nodded and replied to Vixen's reply.

"It is an honor to meet you as well sister."

Vixen was a bit amused by that and replied with a slight smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Sister? no offense meant but I was an only child growing up, I don't recall having a sister, not that I didn't want any mind you."

Wonder Woman then realized that she was greeting Vixen in the way her people would address each other and this was not exactly understood by others in Man's world.

"I apologize, it's the usual greeting of my people to one another."

"Okay, no offense taken, so how can we help each other out?"

"Searching the village for clues would be a good idea."

The three searched the village and they found a number of things that showed that the relocation of the villagers was anything but peaceful, there were pieces of broken furniture and potter everywhere, spilled food and drink, torn clothes, and more. It as not long before John spotted a number of tracks that seemed to show the use of large trucks, normally the kind used for transporting a lot of goods and supplies. They decided to follow it while Cortana finally appeared and gave them the information she and Batman had uncovered. After introducing Mari to Cortana and settling things as the dark skinned woman was surprised by what she had seen earlier they were soon told what was truly going on.

Apparently there had been some files pertaining to the discovery of a massive vein of precious stones in what appeared to be an extinct volcano tunnel network a good distance away and ended in an extinct volcano a day or so away from their current location. The find was suddenly buried under a large amount of red tape and was soon lost or rather hidden away, this happened at three weeks before the sudden relocation of the villagers from the villages in question. It was there that they discovered a cabal of individuals in government and the military had a vested interest in this place and the treasures that were found there. They gathered a large number of mercenaries and out of work soldiers to form their own force and began to kidnap people to serve as labor.

The military group did the operations on the field while the ones in the government made sure to keep things under wraps and keep others from learning of it though their efforts proved useless when facing Cortana of all beings. She managed to uncover the names but told the three that until they revealed the villagers who could give a more serious testimony and get evidence of the events happening in the field itself, this was not going to be enough as the corrupt officers and politicians in question happened to have a great deal of support to get them out legally. Vixen was less than pleased with the news and the same could be said for Diana as the idea of slavery sickened the two of them.

Cortana also located a large facility near the said volcano and the tunnel network where the largest veins of precious stones were located. She also began to fill them in on how many guards were there as well as the location of the hostages. John then told Cortana to do what she could to bring the government and military personnel who were not part of the whole cover-up and were neither corrupt or on the payroll once they rescued the villagers and got the evidence and witnesses that they knew that they needed.

...

It was not long before they arrived to the site the next day and the facility was being covered in passive camouflage as well as some sort of thermal and electronic masking system. This told the Spartan that these guys had some serious connections to keep this place hidden though they were not going to get a good chance to remain hidden from John's MJOLNIR sensors along with the special binoculars he had given the two heroines. Once they spotted the target John spoke to the two of them.

"I'll go down ahead and take out their sentries as well as disable any security systems, once that is done, I'll signal you both so we can free the hostages and take this facility down, but make sure to take down the officers so we can get some information on who are their backers. Taking electronic data is useful so i and Cortana will handle that department, and having confessions from the officers leading this group will be just as valuable."

Diana nodded and so did Mari as he told them to move a bit closer to a location and hold there until he gave the signal which was a special blinking light on their binoculars which would receive his incoming communique.

As soon as the women were in position and waited for John as he went ahead, Vixen decided to ask the Amazon a few questions, namely about a rumor that she heard about. Normally such things were not her concern, but ever since the two appeared on the news, and rumors about their...relationship came up, her fellow models were talking about it. She could easily see just why some of the models would comment positively about Diana's appearance, as well as others who were not too happy about how she looked. The Amazon woman was perfectly formed and had the beauty to boot. If she ever decided to take a job as a model, Mari had now doubt that she and the other models were going to have to work double time in order to match up to her.

"So where exactly did you come from?"

"I'm from Themyscira, home of the Amazons."

"So that place is real, hard to believe that one of your people would come here, don't get me wrong though, I saw how you and the others handled that invasion a few months before, you did real well there."

Diana nodded as they looked on and the African born woman then asked her next question.

"So how do you find the world of men anyway? Must be a shock for you to be seeing things you never saw before?"

The Amazon smiled a bit and replied.

"More than I can say, some things about man's world confirm what my teachers warned me about growing up, and other things...make me think that maybe they were not seeing everything."

Vixen smiled a bit at that and replied.

"I can understand that easily, so what exactly brought you out here into this world?"

Wonder Woman told her reasons and that made Vixen nod a bit and replied.

"Good move I say, though I have a feeling that you're going to have a lot to say to your people and you're mother when you go back once in a while. So what's it like being one of the two women in that group anyway?"

"It's...been interesting."

Vixen smirked a bit at that and replied.

"I'll bet, so what can you tell me of your partner the Spartan...I know enough of Superman, Batman, Flash, and even Green Lantern though not by much, that guy you work with is all brand new to me, anything you can share?"

Diana looked at Mari with some surprise but decided to tell what she could, keeping in mind that there were some parts of his life that were private.

"He's human, but not from Earth actually, and he's not the same as J'onn."

"Who?"

"Another member of the Justice League which was formed by Superman, J'onn is the last Martian who had tried to warn the Earth about the invasion and called all of us together, including the Spartan. I can say that he is not someone to ignore. He has a lot of technology that is rather impressive to say the least and his combat skills are just as impressive. He also said that he came from an...alternate reality for one thing."

Vixen raised an eyebrow at that and replied.

"So he's not from here but not an alien? Not bad, so what exactly does he do?"

Diana was about to reply to that when they spotted the blinking lights and decided that the conversation can wait for a better time. They moved in and they spotted John reloading his Sniper Rifle and placing it on his back while taking out his Assault Rifle. They turned to the towers and bunkers to see that there was no activity. Once the three came closer to the walls, John looked at them and spotted that the fence was electrified and there were mines there on the ground due to his MJOLNIR's built in sensors. He began to remove the mines carefully with his Combat Knife in the same way he learned to set and disable mines as a child. Once he cleared a path, they moved in as Mari leaped upwards due to her powers, Diana flew upward and John merely leaped up, when they were in the compound, John moved to what appeared to a security complex. He quickly took down the guards in a non-lethal fashion and tossed in a TTR loaded Grenade and took down the people there and they walked it. Here he allowed Cortana to show them the full layout of the complex.

John focused on the armory since he had to know if he needed explosives to level the place and make sure that it could not be used, and when he found it, he committed it's location to memory. He and the others did not have long to locate the holding cells where the villagers were being kept. They looked the place over and once they were done, Cortana decided to break this place's location to the proper authorities and also disable the security systems while using a ghost sensor reading to make the people in the place believe that the security systems were still working and had not detected any intruders. She also managed to get into the complex's server and find out the names and positions of the ones funding the whole operation. As this went on, the Master Chief had no doubt that sooner or later they were going to be found out so they were going to have to go all out at some point. Once they got what they came for, or rather Cortana got what they came for left the chamber, they moved out to get to the villagers and take out the complex once they got the innocent people into the clear.

However, it was here that some of the security of the complex encountered them, John and the two heroines wasted no time in taking them out while not killing them and John quickly disposed of the now out cold guards to another spot in the complex. Once the bodies were away, John and the others moved out, they managed to take a few more of the mercenaries down, but it was not long before things would get interesting. Some of the guards in the complex had been armed with dogs and apparently smelled the two women as John had no scent, raising a racket, forcing their handlers to place the base on alert. That removed the element of stealth for the three and the dogs came at them, Diana managed to gently take down her canine attackers without harming the creatures, while Mari used her amulet to take the power of a more dangerous creature than the dogs had ever dealt with before and that was enough to cow her canine attackers. The ones that did attack the Spartan were quickly taken down by Taser rounds, but soon they were joined by guards.

The Amazon used her bracers as she came in to attack them while flying while John covered her and Vixen, as the model/heroine used the speed of a Cheetah to get in close and use her martial arts skills. This was enough to show that despite being a model, Mari was more than able to hold her own in a fight. Couple that with her use of built in claws and the powers given by her amulet, she was powerful in her own right. The Spartan provided the long range support, cycling between the MA5C and the SRS99D to take down the mercenaries, namely the ones armed with the heavier weaponry and rocket launchers. There were those who fired at him, only to see their bullets be blocked by the MJOLNIR's enhanced shields, and their hits barely made a dent in the shield gauge. The three were also supported by Cortana as she began to take down security networks and also isolated key defensive locations to keep them from being overwhelmed as she had found out that there were larger numbers of soldiers in the base. There was no doubt that those forces would mobilize soon so they had to hurry before the mercenaries would kill the villagers to prevent their rescue, and even if Cortana could contain them, they might have other ways of moving about.

They moved out once the fire fight died down and soon arrived at the cells where the villagers were being kept and these looked like small warehouses and naturally Mari and Diana were not happy at the idea of innocent people being herded around like animals. John scanned the cells to see what was there to make sure that there were no disguised attackers among the people they were trying to rescue just as Mari spoke.

"There's the cells, we should hurry before more of these creeps show up."

Diana nodded as she followed Vixen to save these people.

...

John however stopped both women with a strong command.

"Don't!"

Wonder Woman was surprised by that and wondered just why would the Spartan tell her not to save the people being kept as hostages.

"Why would we not rescue them?"

"The cells they are in are wired to explode, and they seem to be wearing IEDs on them, we try to free them without disarming those things, we'll end up killing them."

The Amazon was surprised by that as well as confused as she had no idea what IEDs were, but Mari knew what they were first hand, she had met some people who had been victims of IEDs in her youth and in her modeling career when she did humanitarian work back in Africa. The dark skinned female was not happy by this and her anger was evident on her face as she spoke.

"I can't believe this...they are willing to do that?"

"What are these IEDs?"

John turned to Diana and replied.

"IED is for Improvised Explosive Device, those are make shift bombs that don't look like conventional explosives, but are just as effective and harder at times to disarm, the villagers are going to have to be freed from them. You and Vixen will have to cover me while I study them and find a way to safely disarm them."

The two women agreed and it was not long before John managed to disarm the first trap that led to the first cell area, once the Spartan was in, Diana and Mari had to defend him as well as the villagers while he disarmed the IEDs. The Spartan knew what he had to do due to the fact that during the Insurrection, the rebels were known to use stolen UNSC explosive ordnance and black market explosives in their attacks on civilian and UNSC property as well as personnel. At first it was fairly simple and straight forward, but as the rebels became more organized, the IEDs became more complex and deadly and it had caused many losses during the UNSC's war with them. This was why John and his fellow Spartans had received training in locating and disarming IEDs. Like the Navy EOD teams of the past, they were trained to disarm and destroy IEDs which started from the basic to the complex. And in that training, every once in a while, their DIs and Mendez would come up with a totally different ED model to test them and also make fake IEDs to test them on how to tell the difference between the real deal and the fake article. All of that were naturally on time tables and in unexpected locations as well.

He was not a full fledged expert like Grace or the others who had demolitions skills, but he was more than able to learn. And despite these IEDs being present, they were 21st century variants and they had worked on them before. Still it was no going to be an easy run as he knew that time was not on their side, already his MJOLNIR sensors detected multiple signals coming in as the guards were now moving about. The traps to the cells were soon thankfully disabled by him when Cortana guided him to the control wires and he took them down. Once one cell was cleared of traps and the villagers there freed from the IEDs, he moved on to the next as there were three of them in all inside the complex.

Diana and Mari were already doing their best to keep the guards from attacking John while he did his work. They used their respective abilities to keep the guards and mercenaries occupied, with Vixen using the speed of a Cheetah to attack them at high speed with martial arts and claws and Diana blocked their bullets with her br acers and used her own speed and strength to fight them effectively. She also used her lasso to grab some of the vehicles and stop them cold and lifted them to force out their drivers and gunners while Mari used her amulet to give her strength to fight them off and even stop some vehicles from attacking her and the others as well as the villagers.

John managed to disarm the IEDs on the people in all the cells but told them to stay back until the mercenaries were dealt with. Much to his relief the people managed to get the message despite not speaking english. He then moved out and quickly support Diana and Mari with his Sniper Rifle, taking out long range shooters with the Taser rounds and the TTRs while using his MA5C when they got too close to him. It was not long before the heroes managed to do what they could for the people there as John soon guided the villagers out with the two super powered women helping him.

The people were happy beyond belief and soon the last sets of mercenaries were being dealt with and Diana managed to locate some officers and leaders thanks to Cortana telling her via communications link. However as Mari was helping deal with a pack of mercenaries, she cried out in pain as she was shot on the left side and fell down in pain, clutching her wound and turned to see one of the men armed with a pistol looking at her in rage. Apparently this one had been hiding and shot her when her attention was elsewhere.

"DIE!"

Mari could not react in time but was surprised when her view was blocked by the massive bulk of the Spartan, apparently John had rushed to her side rapidly and allowed himself to be hit, though the slug frome the pistol did not even register on the shield meter, he quickly fired a Taser round into the man's forehead. He then turned to her and helped her up and looked at the wound to find out how severe it was. Mari guessed his intentions and spoke to him.

"How bad is it?"

"A clean exit and no sign of any change in blood color so he didn't hit anything vital."

"That's good."

It was here that Diana appeared with her lasso catching a group of soldiers who had high rank bars on them, and they were currently being taken by the Amazon, any attempt by them to escape was hampered by the fact that the villagers they had once held prisoner were now around them and armed as well. Diana had managed to keep them from being harmed along with the now captured mercenaries as she looked at Vixen with a great deal of concern for her.

"Are you all right sister?"

Mari replied.

"I am fine, the bullet didn't hit anything vital. But I'd feel better if I got some medical treatment."

John nodded as he took out a special pain killer and some Bio-salve to help Vixen move despite the pain and they moved out with the villagers who were now taking the mercenaries away in the same fashion that they had been brought in from before. The large force left the complex and once they were in the clear, John went back to the complex but not before pressing the recall for the Javelin, leaving Diana and the now armed villagers to watch the prisoners. He soon arrived there and spotted the armory and took out all the explosives, placing them in the complex to bring the whole place down but leave the resources still open for use. Once that was done, the Spartan made his way back, happy that the mercs and their leaders were not dead since they were going to be dealt with soon enough, he pressed the detonator, sending the explosives off and making quite the mess as Vixen spoke.

"You really know...how to light up the night."

John shrugged and replied.

"It's a habit."

...

Later...

Vixen looked at her bullet wound on the left side which John was tending while Diana was helping move some of the wounded villagers away from the ruins of the complex that they had once been held prisoner in. The villagers cheered the three heroes while they were all in the Javelin. Once he was done and placed in the bandage, the African super model and heroine looked at him with a grateful smile and spoke.

"Thanks for the medical assistance, you're pretty skilled with medicine, more than some aid workers and medical people I worked with.."

"Not a problem, you will need to be careful as it will take at least a few days to fully heal."

Mari smiled at that and replied.

"Thanks Doc, anyway you and Wonder Woman really did a great deal of good, with the files we got, we can send those corrupt people away for a very long time. And those resources will be in better hands. I can't really guess who but at least this time around it will be in truly legitimate hands than in some corrupt cabal of greedy businessmen and military officers."

John nodded as he decided to take a look at the villagers who had been injured and tend to their injuries as well. This was when he had no choice but to remove his helmet to show his face. The reason was that a number of the injured were still terrified and would not take well to seeing him, as was recommended by Cortana when she scanned them. he disliked it but kept in mind that it had to be done. He might not like it, but that was not needed as he only had to do it. Besides that, they were the only people here and no cameras.

As soon as he did so, Vixen spotted his face and raised an eyebrow at the way he looked without the helmet on. The Spartan was certainly good looking, she had seen many good looking guys in her time as a model, and the Chief certainly was not model or material, but he was not average looking either. He had pale skin, which was in a hue that was a bit unnerving, but it gave him a very exotic look as his eyes did not show any sign of being an albino. The same could be said for the hair as it was deep brown in a military style cut, and the eyes were blue and had a slight glow though she amounted it to being from the starlight as well as the electrical lighting. There was a scar there and that was enough to tell her that this guy was a military man to the bone...but still very good looking.

The Master Chief began to look the wounds over and began to speak to the villagers in their dialects, surprising them as they had not expected him to speak to them in their native languages and also easing them somewhat. This was due to his training on languages in order to adapt and blend in if the mission called for it. He was no language expert but it was part of the course due to the fighting with the Insurrection as it was formed from people of various cultures and backgrounds since despite English being the main trading language, there were plenty of other languages and they needed to be able to speak the languages to fight the Insurrection . This proved useless when facing the Covenant and the Flood but it worked wonders in this kind of situation.

Diana was there and she noted the way that Vixen looked at John, she expected that though for some reason she felt...something stir in her that did not feel nice. But it passed away just as fast so she ignored it as she spoke to Vixen.

"How is your injury?"

Vixen shrugged a bit as she looked at the wound.

"It's not too bad, and it should be gone long before I go back to my work as a fashion model. Having a scar anywhere on you as a model is an open invitation to being rejected and I can't let that happen any time soon."

Diana had no idea why models thought like that but decided not to bring it up as she looked at the scene and at John as he tended to the injured with focus and confidence. She was soon stopped from looking as Mari spoke.

"You know, despite the pale skin, he's certainly good looking. He might not be a model or actor but he can certainly make women look and take notice. You're pretty lucky to be around a guy like him."

Diana was a bit surprised by that but replied honestly.

"I suppose you are right to some degree, he helped me work to adjust here after all."

Vixen smiled a bit and replied.

"Good to know, but don't be surprised if you see other women get an interest towards him. if you're not careful, you might find yourself in a competition over him."

Diana was confused by that and made that obvious to Vixen.

"Why would I get into a competition over the Spartan when it concerns other women?"

Vixen was surprised by that for a moment and was soon amused by that as she replied to the question.

"You'll find out soon enough what I mean by that Wonder Woman, you've still got a lot to learn about ma's world it seems, especially when it concerns good men. But as long as it's not done in a bad way, it should be a good run for as long as it lasts."

Diana wondered what Mari meant about that but decided to place that aside for now as she and Mari decided to help John out in tending to the injured. It took some time but as soon as it was done, the arrival of the authorities that Cortana had signaled before stopped everything. The three heroes gave the information that they had uncovered as well as the names of the people involved in the military and the government and afterwards John and Diana decided to give Mari a lift in the Javelin to her place in America. Once they got her there, the two bid her farewell and decided to head back to their city as it were. There was no doubt however in their minds and Cortana's core that they were not done with their work just yet.

...

In Dakota a week later...

"GET HIM!"

The gang bellow were currently aiming their weapons and firing away at a certain deep blue, yellow, and black wearing masked hero who was currently flying overhead with a glowing disk to help him fly. Static was keen to avoid the weapons fire from the hoods since he didn't exactly have a bullet proof vest on him. The young Dakota born native hero was called in when the thugs he was fighting now had stolen a large truck filled with computer parts as well as a large number of other components. He had just arrived when they had been pulling out from a parking garage building and here he was right now. he fired his energy bolts at their weapons and yanked them away due to their parts being metal.

"Sorry fellas, but if you don't have a license for these, I'm going to have to take them."

With that done, he tossed the weapons away to a nearby railing and quickly had the railings move to pin the weapons to the ground and leave them there, some of the thugs tried to get their weapons back but found them very hard to remove. This allowed Static to use his Taser Punch on them once he was in the clear.

"You guys are really sloppy thinking you can get those."

The young man however managed to avoid several more shots as Gear finally appeared and tossed a few of his grenades to capture the hoods while using his rocket powered blades to avoid being hit by the counter fire. Gear and Static were now working in tandem and handled the hoods well enough though they both wondered what these guys were doing here in Dakota of all places. Gear was naturally the one who commented well on that between him and Static once they were close.

"These guys are new to me Static, I mean, they seemed not to have done their homework."

"Yeah, if they think that just because it's only you and me here, they can have an easy time, we're going to prove them wrong."

That went on until the last group of hoods fought back, that was when Static was caught offguard when his powers did not work on their guns, this forced him to evade as bullets came right at him.

"What the? !"

The punk then spoke.

"You like that magnet boy? You're powers don't work squat on ceramic guns!"

Static frowned at that and replied.

"My name's not Magnet Boy! It's Static!"

The two sneered and the other replied.

"It's going to be dead soon enough!"

Gear scanned them and quickly spoke to Static as the two of them dodged the attacks.

"Static! They've got ceramic armor on and some sort of insulating suit on them, your powers are not going to do any good here!"

"Aw man. That is so not cool!"

Gear tried to use his weapons but the punks knew that with Static unable to affect them, he was a much better threa so they fired at him, making Richie Foley move away while Static managed to create a shield to help his friend. It did not look good until a massive gunshot came out and then the sound of one of the punks swearing.

"Damn you! Let me go!"

The two heroes looked to see the first punt out cold but alive with what appeared to be a shot in the back of the head and the other being held by a golden lasso. They were confused at first until they spotted who had just arrived...and they were none other than the Spartan and Wonder Woman.

"Whoa..."

Static and Gear were surprised and awed as they looked at the two heroes that appeared to help them, the young heroes were now recovering from the surprise attack and seeing the two heroes of New York on their backyard was a surprise. The two looked at the Spartan and saw that the guy was LOT bigger and taller in real life, as well as even deadlier in appearance. The massive assault rifle that he had in hand and the undeniably mean looking shotgun further added to the look. However, being young men with natural teenage thoughts they were also looking at Diana as well, and what they saw was more than enough to tell them that she was a heck of a lot better looking in person than what they had seen in the TV.

Richie whispered to Virgil at this moment.

"Damn V, Wonder Woman's a real looker in real life."

"No kidding, but I think we should not do anything wrong, she's not someone you can mess with."

"I hear ya V, but that certainly does not diminish the fact that she's attractive."

The two young heroes looked at John and Diana as the Spartan reloaded his MA5C as he had loaded this with TTRs before hand and Diana was recoiling her lasso. Once that was done, the two older heroes greeted the younger heroes. They had come here due to a few reports from Cortana about a large number of thefts with high grade parts. Batman then mentioned that he had recently stopped a robbery in Gotham and learned of a similar attack going to go down in Dakota and told them about going there to find out just what these thefts were about and what was going on. Several thefts of high grade components was not a simple crime, no regular band of thieves would steal that kind of gear unless there was something more complex and dangerous going on.

John decided to shake hands with Virgil and Richie with both heroes mentally gasping at how strong his grip was, he was not trying to harm them, but it didn't take much imagination from the two heroes to guess what would happen if he was being serious. Once John was done, Diana did the same and the two younger heroes could not help but feel awed that they were shaking hands with Wonder Woman of all people and could sense the whole time that she also had a killer of a grip. Once that was done, John spoke to the two heroes in greeting.

"So you are Static and Gear, no doubt you know us already correct?"

"Yeah, you're the Spartan, and she's Wonder Woman, thanks for the assist back there."

Diana smiled and replied.

"It is not a problem, you both are very brave for doing this despite being teenagers."

Both heroes nodded and it was here that Diana turned to the Master Chief and spoke.

"I will need to head back to New York, there might be some things happening there that will need my help. Besides, you did state that one of us should be around if the NYPD need help."

"Right, I'll stay here and help Static and Gear out, be careful on your return Wonder Woman."

"May the Gods bless you in your mission Spartan."

Diana then smiled as she flew away and was soon on her way back to New York and that left the Master Chief with Static and Gear, just as the police were now getting the scene cleaned up as well as taking the now incapacitated hoods to prison and keep them there. There was some surprise to seeing the Spartan there in Dakota and already the reporters were asking questions. Some ranged from basic questions to some outlandish ones and John managed to answer as best he could before he left with both young heroes. Gear had managed to find a laptop earlier with heavy encryption on one of the apparent leaders of these hoods and it could prove the clues on what was it that these guys had managed to steal.

...

In the Gas Station/Base of Static and Gear...

It took a while for the three to get into the clear and this was the time that Virgil and Richie went to their base, the abandoned Gas Station. Over the months since the whole incident with Ebon and Hot-streak merging and them gaining their powers back, they had been improving the place. It was filled with all the needed gear that Richie had built along with that they felt they needed, namely in the department of creature comforts though they made sure not to take too many things. Virgil's father routinely came there away from Sharon's eyes and checked on his son's progress. At the moment, it was only the three heroes and Virgil was thankful since he had no idea what his father would done had he seen the Spartan. Virgil knew that while his father had been in the Marines, he was not really the kind of man who liked pointless violence having lost his wife and both his and Sharon's mother in the Dakota Riots, so he had no idea how he might act meeting the Spartan. At the moment, he and the Chief were together while Gear and Backpack tried to break into the laptop.

He turned to the man who had saved his butt hours earlier when that last gang member had been armed with those ceramic weapons that had rendered him hard to beat with his powers and spoke.

"Hey Spartan, I wanted to say thanks again for saving my neck there, those guys with the ceramic guns and the suits were really something I did not expect."

John looked at the young man and gave a slight nod of acceptance.

"Not a problem Static."

"Yeah, and thanks for not killing them, I prefer to take them down without any incident and let the cops handle them, so it would have been..."

"I understand, but keep in mind what I said to the media, I only use lethal force if I have no other option and they cannot be reasoned with."

"Right, my bad."

Virgil then decided to ask the question that was on his mind for a while now, actually the very second he was able to see Wonder Woman.

"By the way..."

"Yes?"

"Are you and Wonder Woman...uh, you know."

John looked at the young man and decided to try some of that suggestion that Cortana gave him when dealing with such questions. He had no idea if was actually going to work, but no sense not trying it out and see what was going to happen.

"I suppose you want to know if I and Wonder Woman are dating?"

"Uh..."

Gear could not help but try not to slap his face plate at that, he was actually interested to know if the rumors he had heard about the internet about the undeniably gorgeous super woman, but asking that question like this in the middle of an investigation was not exactly the best of ideas. But no sense saying anything bad about it now since the cat was out of the bag.

John then replied.

"No we're not dating in that sense, we're allies and colleagues at the moment, so let's leave it at that all right?"

Static gave a weak laugh at that and replied.

"I guess you're right on that, I was just curious."

John nodded and walked over the Gear as Static joined his partner as Gear decided to take a look at the files that he was able to get from the laptop that they swiped from the gang.

"Looks like the gang we busted were more than just a bunch of thieves...they were stealing some very high grade parts for some sort of outside group, and these guys have been stealing stuff from other places too, even in Batman's turf. The stuff they stole here appears to be some sort of new prototype components."

John looked at it and could see that the components certainly looked very high grade, what they were for was still a bit unknown to him but he had no doubt that the thieves did not have good plans for them. He also began to look at the list and try to piece the functions of the components together to see what could be a possible result of such a system using these said components. While he was doing that, he knew that the data was being sent to the Dawn and to Cortana's copy that was with the ship at the moment for testing and construction. He then decided to speak to Gear and see what else he could possibly uncover. There was a chance that the shipments that this group had stolen were not the only ones they had possibly taken from before.

"Is there anything else in the list that you found?"

The disguised tech specialist looked in deeper and spoke.

"Yeah, they also took a number of shipments of high grade alloy plating, some sort of titanium composite...pretty high grade stuff, just the kind you'd normally make for high risk machines, but the rest of the data's heavily encrypted."

Static then spoke.

"How encrypted are we talking about here Gear?"

"More than at least twelve hours worth of work, whoever encrypted this laptop to hide what they have in mind for these parts was no slouch. It might take that long for Backpack to access this system."

John replied.

"We don't have that kind of time, there's no doubt that whatever these components were for, it's not for the good of anyone. I think it's best I bring in someone who can crack this code."

Gear looked at the Spartan and replied.

"Really? This is one person I have got to meet."

John mentally sighed and replied to that.

"You're about to meet her."

The two heroes were confused by that until they heard a female voice come out from the massive Spartan who was with them.

"All right then, I guess it's my turn to play ball."

The two were utterly confused by this as they had thought that the Spartan was a man, the voice they had heard before was certainly leaning in that direction, but now it sounded like it was a female voice, they watched as the Spartan placed his right hand over the laptop and in a moment a deep golden light came from the hand. They watched as the light bathed the laptop and in a moment, they spotted lines of code coming in from the screen of the laptop. The data was moving too fast for Virgil to see but Richie was able read the data due to his abilities.

"Whoa...these guys have been hitting a lot of high tech shipments as well...several from some government groups, and even stole some sort of prototype fuel."

"Just who the heck are these guys working for Gear?"

"Hold on... it says they worked for Intergang."

Static was not happy with that, he might be based in Dakota, but even he had heard of Intergang, even more so when rumors came out that they had been supported by that alien warmonger Darkseid. They were not dead yet but the fact that they had actually decided to operate in Dakota was already sending alarms in his mind. And he was naturally more than willing to speak about what he had just learned.

"Intergang...what the heck are they doing here in Dakota anyway?"

Gear replied as he looked at the data.

"They're not here for sight seeing, that's for sure...the data here seems to be blue prints for some sort of...suit. Not the kind you wear to the prom either, it's some sort of battle suit...and here come the plans."

John said nothing but he quickly recognized the design plans the very second he saw them. The plans were based on the same suit that was made to be used by the still comatose Corey Miles. This was the suit that was developed by Lexcorp and had supposedly been shelved after the incident that involved the man with Superman. This was not good news as this would mean that they either stole the plans from Luthor, or the man had given it to them. For what reason he did not know but he and Cortana knew that it was not going to be good as they spot to one another.

"You think that Luthor got these plans stolen from him?"

"I doubt it John, even if that thing was supposed to be a failure, I have my doubts that Luthor would willingly part with it, he might be outsourcing the plans to keep his hands clean, and providing aid on the side. I can guess this must be some sort of plan to face with Superman again. After all, Superman did have some difficulty in dealing with Miles when the guy went over the edge due to sensory overload and hyper aggression to boot. No, I get the feeling that he must have some part of this, but that's all the data we got from this thing. he might even be trying to replicate the MJOLNIR for all we know."

"Right. By the way, I think that you should meet the two, I can bet they are confused by you suddenly speaking."

The A.I smirked at that and replied.

"All right then, but I get the feeling that they are going to be in for a surprise."

As soon as the Spartan was done, he moved his hands away, Cortana spoke this time to the two teenagers.

"Hi there, if you're both wondering if the Chief is of a different gender and disguises the voice, then I can assure you that the Spartan is a male like you two so no need to think in that direction, as to who I am, I am Cortana, a Smart A.I if you want something a lot more direct."

Gear and Static were curious about that and Gear, being the tech specialist was certainly curious.

"Smart A.I? Never heard of something like that."

"You can say that I am a sentient A.I, like those living computers you two see in those cheesy sci-fi movies, and no, I am not some nutty A.I hell bent on ruling the world or anything."

John then replied.

"Cortana's right about that, otherwise I would not be working with her for as long as I have."

Static then spoke.

"O-kay...so where exactly are you Cortana?"

"Oh, so you want to meet me, all right then, give me a second."

John had a feeling that this course of action was going to have some very interesting effects once Cortana showed herself, especially to two young teenagers. The reason for that was the avatar that she used all her life, and while he had gotten very used to it along with many of the UNSC personnel, he had no doubt that the second these young men saw her, there was going to be a reaction. He had a feeling that Cortana knew that as well, but she was going to go through with it anyway. The very second Static and Gear saw Cortana, they reacted like regular teenagers would. The electromagnetism using hero turned around while Gear looked away, not unexpected since Cortana technically was not wearing any clothes to speak of, relying only on her lines of code to hide what would have been her...womanly assets...had she been a flesh and blood human.

Cortana noted that and laughed gently as she made a few alterations and dressed herself to make her appearance a lot less distressing to the teen heroes. Once she was done she spoke to the two young heroes.

"All right you two, you can turn around."

The two turned and as before when they saw Diana in her usual garb, they gasped. After all, Cortana was dressed in something that was bound to get attention either way. She wore what appeared to be a single jacket that was unzipped and a tight shirt that covered her well, along with long sleek pants and half length boots. The garb did not exactly make her look like a super heroine, but it certainly made her look very attractive either way even if her virtual clothes were in the same color as her appearance. She then spoke to the two heroes.

"All right gentle-men, let's start with the basics of introduction, I am Cortana, and you are?"

Static then knew that now was the time to get his tongue to work and he replied.

"My name is Static."

Cortana smiled, she already knew just who he was as she had his file, but decided to pretend for now that she did not know him that well and she replied.

"I can see that, judging by the powers I saw you use and the outfit, nice to see a young man showing due diligence and courage in using his powers for the right reasons and goals."

She then turned to Gear and asked the same question.

"And now that I know your friend Static, I want to know who you are."

Gear then spoke.

"I think I'm in love."

Cortana smirked at that and replied.

"Keep your hormones in check there young one, keep in mind, I'm not a living being, but an A.I."

Gear merely nodded but turned to Static and spoke.

"I am so going to have to make something like Cortana bro. She's amazing!"

Virgil could not help but be a bit amused at this and a bit unsettled, he knew Richie was a total techie when it came to technology and inventions, but this was the first time his long time friend acted like this.

"I think we really need to get you a real life flesh and blood girl buddy."

John heard that easily, and so did Cortana, making her avatar smirk even more as John spoke to her.

"Looks like you've got an admirer."

Cortana looked at John and smiled as she spoke.

"That can wait big guy, we have work to do, if this band of hoods working for or are part of Intergang want to make those same suits as before that means that we're going to be in for the long haul."

...

To be continued...

...

Author's Notes:

I have returned...

Or at least for now, I am working in a PC at a computer shop and it's not easy right now. But at least this should show that I am far from gone from the writing circuit. And if this is up to the standard then I am very happy, but if it is not, then I apologize and hope to make amends once I am back to working on writing fanfiction. But I can bet that many want to know what exactly happened to me while I was away...

Well then I will answer you.

I am currently living in the outskirts of my home town, and in the family farm as well, it's been expanded to make it a lot more roomy for me and my folks to live in. The place is not bad, and it's certainly a nice place to have some down time and peace and quiet. Plus once I graduate with full marks, I can keep my promise to my old man and work on the farm with him. It's our source of money and livelihood after all, and work part time as a tutor to the school my mother happens to be a member of.

The bad news is that my PC is now reaching the last of it's legs or so I am told. the reason is that it's parts are getting old so it's not going to be long before they finally reach their operational limits. I will have to consider buying either new parts or a new CPU. The reason for that is my mouse, keyboard, monitor, and sound system work fine so I don't need to buy a whole new set. I hope it does not come to that, but you have to be ready for anything that can happen. Also I am going to be working on graduation and start working part time in school as a tutor and support teacher so I will have to be careful of my time as well as working on the farm as I promised my father...though it will not be easy for me.

...

Now on with the story...

As you can see, this is the first of the Holding the Fort arc, I plan to have at least two more chapters before we move on with the original pace of the Justice League episodes. Along the way I plan to have John work with other heroes in the Justice League world so it will make sure that John will have a more diverse level of interaction with people in the world.

This naturally means that he will be able to work with more heroes and at times will not be working with Diana in this arc, this will naturally allow him to work with the other heroes. That would mean that this will not be the last time John will be working with Vixen as there will be parts where he will work with her and this might make things rather interesting for the two of them. Will it make Vixen and Diana become rivals in the future?

That will have to be seen at a much later date, and that will also mean that John will be working not just with the League but with other heroes as well in the original arcs. The next chapter will be the conclusion of the arc with Static and Gear, and will open two new places for John to go, the first being Brazil and the next being Metropolis, and you can guess who is the heroine John will be working with in Brazil, and this might be the chance that Kara will be able to thank John as well as allowing John to work with Steel.

John will also get to face his first personal villain in the next chapter, and you can bet that this should make things interesting as well, as this will allow John to field the new MJOLNIR variants, some will be from the game, while the others will be hybrid models that I will custom design myself. They next model will play a key role in John's joining in the episodes that deal with Aquaman and his traitorous half brother. You can bet that John and Aquaman will be butting heads int his as well so don't expect this to be simple.

And yes, the Blarney Stone mentioned here is the same one in the Discovery Channel's Construction Intervention, this model has already been renovated and is run by the same people so don't expect any changes. You can bet that I might mention other places mentioned in that same show. After all, John IS based in New York so no sense in not letting some real life places in New York be seen.

...

Now on another matter that has been around, namely with John Stewart and his position as a former Marine and a Lantern, since this is starting to get a lot of attention, which I do not need at this time with a lot that's been happening around me and I have dug into his comic book roots for this. John was no doubt a former Marine and as such had the authority to kill enemy combatants are par being a military man under government law. However, he became a Lantern after his service and his time as an architect, so by Earth law he can no longer use lethal force to take down enemies like he did as a Marine and this would work well with the Lanterns being more of a peacekeeping force that did not use lethal force. And in the case of the DCAU version that I am using, he spent fifteen years as a Lantern so he would already be using the Ring to take down foes in a non-lethal fashion which is why he now would see himself as a beat cop instead of a killer though he still uses his military training and still has his military demeanor and traits.

This is why I decided to have him a bit less inclined to kill people now once he came back to Earth.

There is also the fact that I do not have any information that pertains to his military service in the Marines, if I have that then I would have done things differently and the fact that his rank was not exactly the kind that allowed for constant field deployment. The only thing that is known about his military service was that he met and became friends with Rex Mason, who soon became Metamorpho. Now if I had any data on where John served and what sort of action he had seen as a Marine, I would have a more clear idea of his career, and without that data I can't say that he did kill anyone.

If there are still complaints, then take it up with the makers of John Stewart and the ones who created the Justice League series...I am a writer who uses him and the background he has to make my story and I had no part is his creation or what his background is. That simply means that I am not his creator and as such, I can do things in my own fashion while being in reason with it as well.

...

See you soon!


	9. Chapter 9

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to DC or Halo…

Chapter 5

Part 2

Holding the Fort

( ): Thoughts

…

Once the three heroes got everything that they needed from the laptop, they knew that they were going to have to move quickly and find out just where Intergang were storing the materials and also if the suit in question was being developed. Cortana quickly accessed a number of databases from the public registry in Dakota as well as accessing satellites from the NSA and CIA that were within reach of Dakota and not on any vital mission, she also looked at any records in the Interpol database on any members of Intergang reported to be still in operational status. All of this was done in mere moments before the two teen super heroes and Virgil whistled.

"Man...she makes Omnara look like a rookie and that's saying something."

Richie nodded in agreement as he watched the A.I hack into information streams that took him a bit longer to read and that was saying something as well.

"Yeah, I sure hope I can come up with something like Cortana soon, and install it into Back Pack."

Cortana then returned to John's palm as the image arrived. The images were from an old factory complex which had a symbol that Static was quick to recognize.

"That's one of Alva's old factories a few miles from Dakota, not to mention it's got some warehouses too."

Cortana nodded as she spoke.

"The place was shut down at least several months to nearly a year ago, and naturally all the facilities have no power, however, I scanned the area and there seems to be traces of activity there as well as some thermal radiation that looks too uniform to be natural. That must mean that someone has taken over the place."

Gear turned and spoke to Static.

"You think we should drop by Alva's place and find out if he has anything to do with our guests?"

Virgil thought about it and while he knew that Edwin had settled their vendetta after he and Hotstreak brought his son back from his petrified state, he knew that Alva was no saint. It would not surprise him if the man had some hand in this, but he knew that proof was needed and at times, the best way was to go and get it from the man himself than just getting in there.

"Yeah, he might not like it, but I have a feeling that he might at least help us, after all, he closed down the place and the last thing he would want is some bunch of thugs using what used to be his property."

John knew about Alva as well and spoke.

"Are you sure about that?"

Static shook his head and replied.

"Honestly, I have no clue, but you got to start somewhere, and I know Alva's a tightwad with his money."

Gear nodded at that.

"Yeah, he makes Bill Gates look homeless and he didn't do it by spending money on bad calls either."

...

Alva Industries Head Quarters...

Edwin was busy looking at the reports on his industries and as soon as he was done, he looked at the watch to see what exactly the time was, he knew that he had an appointment to keep with his son. Edwin Jr was arriving in the building to catch up on some lessons that he was giving personally once he would take over the company. It had been nearly a year since he had gotten his son back and it had been a year of hard work for him, not just in running the company, but keeping his vow to be a better father. He knew that his actions and attitude had driven his son to become the statue he was before due to overdosing on Quantum Vapor, which was why he had worked hard to spend time with his son and try to mend fences.

It would be a lie to say that he had done well, he had found out that trying to be a better father was even harder than running Alva Industries as he had a LOT to work on with his son. But having looked at his son's form in stone he was certainly going to try and it seemed that he had done a lot of progress since then. Edwin Jr had begun to improve in his own right and he felt pride in him as his son began to rise on his own merits. His son expressed interest in running the company once he was able to recover from his experiences and also make his grades better, that was at least a start in his mind. He worried that

Alva's train of thought was stopped however as one of his security leaders came into his office, he looked at the man sternly and spoke.

"What is it?"

"Sorry to disturb you Mr. Alva, but Static and Gear are here outside of the compound to see you and... uh..."

Edwin wondered just what was the reason Static and Gear would go to his place of all things. He had already buried the vendetta he had for Static ever since his son had been freed and was back to normal. Even though Static did raid his warehouse before he knew that Roberts no doubt must have coerced Static to help her get her pet project from his grasp which told him that she did find his former enemy's true identity, and did not make any noise about it. He owed Static that much and that was why he made sure to not pursue him anymore. So it puzzled him as to why Static and his friend Gear were here with him. It was also here that he realized that the security leader was not able to finish what he was saying.

"What is the problem?"

"You might want to see for yourself sir."

...

It was not long before Alva came down to see what was going on and while he maintained his calm, he was surprised by what he was seeing at the front door as his security were all over the place and facing three figures, two he already knew for a long time...and the other one being someone he had NO idea about. Static and Gear were there and seemed to be fairly calm even though he knew that if pressed, the two heroes could be a major problem for his security staff due to their abilities and experience in fighting them, but even more so with the massive figure behind them who seemed to be the new arrival. Edwin knew who the figure was but he was still shocked and that was saying something for a man of his caliber and reputation though he kept his shock to himself.

Like everyone around the world, he had been able to see the invasion of the Imperium and had actually readied his company and his personnel to fight back if the aliens came to Dakota, it was not entirely out of altruism as he needed to protect his businesses and interests, but he was not going to just stand by and watch the aliens destroy everything. This also allowed him to see the formation of the Justice League when Superman, Batman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Flash, the one known as J'onn, and naturally Wonder Woman and the Master Chief hunted down the last of the alien forces. This was why the Spartan was not unknown to the business man despite not meeting the man face to face, what the man was doing here and with his former enemies was still a mystery to the business owner, but he had no doubt that he was soon going to find out.

Once he was in front of the three he spoke to Static.

"You know that this is the first time you came to my compound without any intentions of attacking Static."

"I know, and this is the first time I and Gear came here without being blasted by your security machines and the goon squads."

Alva shook his head and replied.

"You did save my son after all Static, and you did it without asking for anything, the least I could do was bury the hatchet between you and me."

Static gave a slight smile and replied.

"Thankfully it's not buried between my shoulder blades then, but you can guess that this ain't a social call."

"I can already see that...I do wonder why you and Gear are with the Spartan though, and yes I watch the news outside of Dakota so that's why I know of him. I thought he was based in New York with the one named Wonder Woman."

John replied as he could see that the man could be reasoned with so no sense talking to him.

"I normally am, but a situation has brewed up."

"I hope that I am not being implicated in this."

Gear shook his head.

"You're not, but we've got word that someone or a group of someones have taken over one of your abandoned factories."

The businessman glared at gear and replied.

"That's impossible, all of my factories that I had ordered to be shut down are no longer under anyone's ownership but mine and all of the inventories accounted for."

John replied as he took out a datapad which had the data that they got from the laptop which was transferred there by Cortana herself as the Spartan spoke to the man.

"You might want to re-think that Mr. Alva, here's the data that we took off from a band of thugs working for Intergang, no doubt you know of them?"

Alva took the datapad and looked it over carefully, his eyes widened at this and he spoke.

"I have, formerly a gang that was run by Bruno from Metropolis, who I recall was killed in a nuclear explosion after being left behind by that alien warlord Darkseid, and served as agents of said madman, they were taken down by Superman and Supergirl but somehow survived. Are you suggesting that they took that factory of mine and are using it for something?"

"Yes, we also believe that they are builkding new weapons of some sort there, which would explain why they would take over an abandoned factory. When was this place abandoned?"

"Not soon after the whole incident at the Docks when the Big Bang happened. I had the place shut down since it had been suffering some major setbacks in production, I naturally got hit by legal battles for the loss of jobs from the workers, but so far they have settled down. But I doubt that no mere gang could be able to just take over without serious capital and support, and I can assure you that I have not left any manufacturing equipment there as I had given orders to have all equipment taken from the factory."

Cortana then spoke privately to John.

"Alva is not kidding, he scans I have done on him shows that while is surprised, the traces of him possibly lying are not there and the physical signs of him lying are not there.

This troubled the Spartan somewhat as this was enough to tell him that Interganag must have had outside help, who that was is still a mystery but he placed that aside for now. What mattered at this moment was to deal with Intergang and make sure that whatever suit they were going to produce using the Power Armor blueprints that came from Lexcorp never left the production line. There was still the question on how they got the blueprints in question, along with where they managed to get the machines to work and assemble the things that they had stolen but that could wait for now.

Alva's son soon arrived and after Edwin gave his consent to allow Static, Gear, and the Spartan to check it out, he also decided to send word to the police about the illegal take over of his factory. That gave the trio the green light to go ahead and deal with the problem. John decided to take some of his more lethal ammunition and ready them for use on the off chance that the ganag could be using more advanced weapons and armor. There was a chance that whatever technology the gang had gained from Apokolips was still there so no sense being ready for anything. They soon took off and John was in the lead as despite the fact that Static and gear could fly, the Spartan was able to keep up using the special functions of his MJOLNIR.

...

Later...

As soon as they arrived at the outskirts of the city and heading for the factory, the Spartan was in the lead and scanned the area, along with Static and Gear who were nearby. John had mentioned that going on foot would be better as there was a chance that Gear and Static could be spotted. Intergang were not some group of mercenaries or former military forces, but he wanted the element of surprise on their side as they moved to a nearby ridge that had plenty of cover. Once they were there, the Spartan spotted a number of guards there and spotted them to be armed with regular weapons. he made sure to load some Taser Rounds and TTRs into his weapons to make sure that he was ready for the need of a take down. However, he soon spotted a massive crate being taken into a large warehouse a fair distance into the complex.

Something about that was tugging at his mind and he had a feeling in his gut that something was up with that crate, or more importantly the contents. And Chief Mendez always stated that going with one's gut when all else fails, is a good bet. Not as effective of course, but it worked wonders when things were right on the money. He decided to get going and spoke to both Static and Gear.

"You guys will need to wait for me to give you both the go ahead signal, I'll take care of any sentries and you guys can handle the rest, but be careful either way. There's something in one of those warehouses that I have a feeling we might need to be ready for."

Static and Gear nodded as the Spartan moved out quickly and quietly, much to the surprise of the two heroes as the guy moved in a way that spoke volumes as he quickly faded from sight. Static had no idea what to make of what was going on but he knew that now was not the time to be thinking about something that he had no control over. Gear decided to use his long range scanner to watch the action as John moved in quietly and began to take out some of the patrols. He saw the Chief quickly take out the men with military precision and he whistled.

"Wow...he's good."

"Yeah...well, let's hope that he does not kill anybody."

After a few minutes, they were both startled to hear Cortana's voice on their communications systems.

"Hey guys, we've cleared the deck for you two, make your move once you are ready."

Gear spoke then.

"How did you manage to get into our Shock Boxes?"

Cortana replied to that in a amused but gentle way.

"It was not too hard but I have to give you credit for your work Gear, it took a bit longer than I normally would take to get into your comm. systems. You would have made an excellent addition to the support staff back where me and Chief came from and you would have made a good impression on the young lady tech specialists we have there."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, you've got talent and ability Gear, never doubt that for a second."

Gear could not help but feel a measure of pride in that as well as a bit of embarrassment. He was being given praise by a highly evolved living computer, who also happened to be one attractive woman to boot.

"Thanks."

"All right, it's your move guys, but be careful, these Intergang are serious so don't take them lightly, if you encounter any of them who are armed and armored like the last two you fought, do what you can despite that, and if you need help, me and the Chief will be there to help you two out."

Static and Gear smiled at that as Virgil spoke.

"Show time it is then."

...

The Intergang members were still unaware of the attack as Cortana had managed to hack their radios after she managed to locate the exact frequency that they were using to communicate with one another. Once she was able to do that, she made sure to have the radios filled with static, this was more than enough to give the team the edge as John was still armed with the Taser Rounds and TTRs to take out the gang quickly. Static and Gear arrived and they were also doing their own share of damage to Intergang. The gang members and their hired thugs fired at the two younger heroes but those armed with guns and melee weapons made of metal found their weapons moved out of their hands. Gear was not far behind as he quickly chucked out his restraint grenades to catch down the ones that his friend had managed to disarm.

The two of them naturally avoided several more shots from the ones that Virgil had not managed to disarm came at them. Static responded by using his powers to make shields while Gear moved in and tossed some more grenades to restrain them while Static moved in with his Taser attacks on the thugs. John was not far behind as he managed to keep some of the Intergang reinforcements occupied and away from overwhelming the young heroes who were now in the front lines, but he had no doubt that both Static and Gear can handle it for now, if not he will come to their aid the very second Cortana told him that they needed his help. For now he had to focus on locating the crate and find out what was in it that got his attention and find out just what was Intergang doing with all the materials that they had been getting lately. It was here that he spotted a container of what appeared to be some sort of gas in vials.

These had the Alva Industries seal on them and there seemed to be some sort of date on them, he scanned it and it was not long before Cortana was able to give him the information.

"This container seems to be carrying Quantum Vapor."

"Isn't that the gas that was in the Big Bang and gave Virgil and Richie their powers, along with their enemies in the past?"

"Yeah? But here's the thing...this container's manifest stated that this was part of the shipment that was in the Big Bang, my guess is that the explosion must have knocked away this container and somehow it did not rupture at all. Intergang or whoever is helping them in some fashion must have either guided them to this or provided it to them."

John did not like the sound of that and so did Cortana as he scanned the gas residue inside, and the results of the analysis was not good.

"The gas has been contaminated and seems to have some new chemical make-up, that is not good, I have no idea what the effects on people are if we're talking about tainted Quantum Vapor."

John did not like this even more as he and Cortana moved into the warehouse and he scanned the area to see if he could locate any possible hostiles in the building. He did not have to wait for too long as his motion sensors detected several contacts coming in towards him. They were also Intergang but a quick scan of their weapons revealed that they were using ceramic weapons and apparently were wearing body armor, and not regular body armor either, but full body suits with ceramic plating. This meant that the ones that Static and Gear were dealing with were the regular thugs and whoever was in here was a high profile one. John decided to switch to his more potent rounds and aim for vital areas that would take them down without killing them.

The fire fight quickly became deadly as the thugs with the better armor and weapons were showing at least some skill in fighting the Spartan as they sought cover as well as tried to support each other. But that was not enough as the Spartan was quickly cutting through them. It was there that a voice came over the warehouse's intercom.

"Stop him you fools! I paid you all big money to keep anyone from getting to me!"

John quickly recorded the voice and filed it away to see if the man in question had a file in the Metropolis PD files and also in Interpol to be safe. What he did know from the voice that it was a man in what would be mid or late thirties and judging by the accent was not from any other nation but the US. The tone also spoke of a man who was accustomed to getting what he wanted and what that might be, he had no doubt he and Cortana were soon going to find out. It was not long before the switch in ammunition types were paying off as more of the thugs fell, it was at this point that Cortana spotted a nearby console and John already guessed what she had in mind and headed for the said device.

Once they got to the console, Cortana wasted no time in hacking it and found something in the database that proved interesting.

"Check this out John...apparently the suit they have here is an advanced version of the previous suit used by Corey Mills."

"How advanced are we talking about here?"

"It's a lot stronger than before, at least in armor terms, and has better firing weapons and seems to have improved it's abilities to boost strength and agility for the user. But the biggest addition is the improvement of the neural interface system, this version is not going to make one dangerously aggressive like it did to Mills but that in itself is worrying."

John nodded as he had a feeling that he knew what Cortana was getting at.

"There's no way a gang like Intergang would have the ability to deal with neural interface technology unless they had outside help."

"Right, and I doubt that the maker of the first suit, one John Henry Irons would willingly make another suit like this for Intergang. Luthor might be involved, considering his vendetta with Superman but I have no doubt that the last thing he would want was t be associated with the suit itself. There's no mention of how this was done, apparently that file was cut away from the maid data network and I can't find it."

"File it away for now Cortana, right now we've got work to do."

Cortana did that quickly as John got up and fired several more rounds on his foes, aiming for the critical spots to take down his targets without killing them. They moved in deeper into the factory as the numbers of the better armed Intergang members were now dropping rapidly as they cleared this section of the massive warehouse. But as they came closer, the Spartan and his A.I companion were forced to move as lasers were fired at them, they moved to see a figure at a nearby observation spot in the warehouse and John quickly scanned the new foe that apparently tried to turn him into a dead man with that attack.

It was the Power Armor that was used by Corey Mills but it looked a lot different as it seemed to have a stronger level of armor protection as well as some sort of all face visor that reminded him of the EVA helmet used in the MJOLNIR series so he had no idea who this new attacker was. He however quickly placed that aside as the man took out what appeared to be a rocket launcher. The Spartan moved out of the cover he had been using and quickly used what he and the others termed as Spartan Time to slow down things in his perception as he quickly timed his turn to actually catch the missile and slap it away, just as he had done in the past when testing the Mark V and working with Cortana for the first time back on Reach.

The missile was sent away and exploded to the side of the wall and it was here that John and his new foe came face to face, namely due to the fact that the man in question jetted towards the Spartan and was firing blasts of lasers at him. The Spartan held his ground as he fired his MA5C, only to see that his current choice of 7.62mm NATO rounds were not effective on the alloy skin of the new foe.

The man then spoke to him in a tone filled with venom.

"You think that those jelly beans you call bullets are going to stop me?"

The Spartan quickly moved away as the man quickly grabbed a nearby fuel drum and tossed it at him at high speed, no doubt using the thing as a weapon, John ducked and charged at the man and fired several rounds, but the man quickly reacted thanks to his own Power Armor and jetted away in time while firing his lasers at the Spartan. The man then gloated towards John as he began to strafe the Spartan while in the air.

"You're the Spartan who put many of my friends to hospital, and derailed our plans to take over the whole group...I am going to make you pay!"

John was not the kind who wasted time with words but decided to ask one question.

"Who are you?"

The man laughed and forced John from cover as he fired a grenade at the Spartan's hiding place, causing more destruction in the warehouse that the two of them were in.

"Now why should I tell you that? But you can call me Xerxes!"

...

John managed to dodge the incoming laser blasts from the Intergang member wearing the newly produced suit and calling himself Xerxes of all things. He had a feeling that the guy was a bit loose in the head and Cortana was in agreement with him on the matter, but now was not the time for thinking about the man's mental state as he moved to cover from more weapons fire heading at his direction. The Power Armor that man wore was a lot more resistant to the ammunition that he had with him for his weapons when he moved to fighting him and placing his non lethal rounds aside earlier which was why he was moving to cover and trying to find a weak point in the improve Lexcorp designed Power Armor. But that hardly meant that the Spartan was having a hard time as he was already working on a strategy to defeat the man in the Armor.

However, that hardly meant that Xerxes in the armor was going to keep himself focused on the task at hand as he taunted the Spartan.

"What's the matter big man? Can't handle me?"

He then fired another blast from his suit's grenade launcher to force the Spartan out from hiding. John moved away and soon moved to cover as the man continued to hurl attacks and insults at the Spartan's direction.

"Hah! You might have been a threat to the others but against me and this new suit, you are going down! Soon I am going to cement my name as the one who took down the Spartan!"

John ignored the man's ravings and taunts as he was a professional soldier and taunts were something that he ignored when they were thrown at his direction. Not only that, he rarely used them as he saw actions like them as a waste of time and energy, and it would leave one open to attack. He knew their value of course, and he had heard and seen the effectiveness of taunts first hand in the war, but he only used them when he knew that they would work on the foe or foes he was facing.

Cortana on the other hand was not the least bit amused as she spoke.

"I swear that guy's more annoying than Guilty Spark."

"For once I agree, but that armor plating he's got on is proving an annoyance. Regular rounds are not cutting it due to the special alloy he's got on."

Cortana agreed though she already had a way to answer that.

"I have a way to put a sock in that guy's mouth as well as make him less of a pain, I'd teleporting in a weapon supply pod with Gauss weapons…let's see just how he stands up them. Head out of the warehouse but use something to keep motor mouth occupied."

John nodded and quickly spotted the man fire out another grenade, he used his Spartan reflexes and caught the weapon quickly before it could detonate. He then tossed it right back at his attacker who was caught by surprise as he jetted back and was sent flying away as the explosion sent shock waves and debris into his face. This allowed John to leave and head for the location where Cortana planned to send him something new.

…

The Intergang member going by the real name of Jacob Morris recovered and managed to get himself back to the fight. He growled as he tried to locate the Spartan as he vowed to make the armored man pay for messing with Intergang. They had only began to recover their other operations and had to set up a place in New York before the Spartan appeared.

One of the others injured by the Spartan was his friend Trevor and that was why he jumped at the chance to kill him. Not only that, this would allow him to take control of Intergang. Ever since the death of Bruno as well as the power vacuum that came afterwards, no one led Intergang for a long time and that was why many were vying for control. He and Trevor were making their big move before the Spartan stopped them. It was here that he was going to get his chance and if he killed the Spartan, it would raise his profile in the Underworld of crime.

He scanned the warehouse and came out to look for the Spartan.

"I am going to kill you freak! Come out and face me!"

He got his answer as the Spartan appeared, he fired several lasers at him as the Spartan quickly used his shields. He ignored the fact that his weapons were not enough to harm the Spartan as he shouted.

"Come on big man! Let's see if your little bullets can harm me!"

John complied and Jacob laughed, confident that his armor could handle it…however, he was not prepared for the bullet fired from the same looking Assault Rifle hit him enough force to tear off a chunk of the armor plating on his right shoulder armor plate, and have enough force to send him crashing into the ground.

SMASH!

He shook his head as he got up and quickly snarled in anger as he quickly fired several shots from the lasers that were in his armor at the Spartan, however, John was able to move and evade his attacks well enough and fired several bursts that hit the man hard. The good news for Xerxes was that John had actually lowered the potency of the Gauss rounds as he had plans to take the man alive and find out just what he could. Since this guy was the head honcho of this Intergang group, then he would have the answers needed to find out just who was helping them get this stuff. He could not use EMP rounds since the man was a living being and so EMP was not going to have much of an effect on him and there was still the question of whether the suit was EMP protected, so a bit more force was in order.

The two of them began to fight one another as Xerxes fired more lasers at John as well as a combination attack of lasers and grenades to keep the Spartan from using his Gauss Assault Rifle. The two men wearing Power Armor were going at it and John had to admit that this new version of the suit once worn by Corey Mills was not something to turn down despite it lacking an energy shield system, he had managed to injure Xerxes with several more hits, but the man countered by using not just his weapons, but the suit's abilities, and his own imagination as well. He grabbed a number of iron bars and used them as spears at him while also using some nearby fuel drums as massive grenades along with his other weapons. The two were quickly turning the field into a battle field from hell as explosions and flames were all over the place.

It was not long before Xerxes had enough and decided to use the other surprise to fight the Spartan, he accessed the vials of Quantum Vapor that was stored into the Power Armor. This was going to give him a chance to even the odds. Cortana quickly spotted that and spoke to John as she had a feeling that the battle between John and this Xerxes was about to go into overdrive.

"Chief! I'd managed to isolate something in that Armor, it seems that the man's about to ingest some of the Quantum Vapor!"

"Has he lost his mind?"

The shout from Xerxes and the sight of him seemingly glowing with energy all over, no doubt from the Quantum Vapor was enough to convince John and Cortana that their foe had indeed lost his mind. The MJOLNIR's scanner detected sudden surges in biological energy coming from the man in power Armor as he screamed in pain. The screaming stopped and John quickly saw the man growl at him and fire more of the lasers but this time he was charging into him. Xerxes used the Jet Pack function of the Armor to close the gap between them. John shot him down but it seemed that the Quantum Vapor that was with the man had somehow affected his ability to feel pain as the Gauss rounds hit him.

The Spartan placed his rifle aside and dodged the attack as the laser bolts hit his shields, showing some decrease in the energy within the shield meter. John ignored it as Xerxes came for a second pass and then came at John, intending to take his head off with a punch. John decided to oblige as he charged towards Xerxes at full tilt.

Static and Gear arrived in time to see the two Armored beings smash into each other as both punched at the same time. The result of the Quantum Vapor mixture coupled with the Power Armor increase was seen as Xerxes landed a blow on John. But the attack was not going to stop John as he launched a hay-maker of his own, utterly convinced that going easy on this one was not going to end well. Both of their attacks hit hard and actually hit with enough force to create small but loud sonic booms. Xerxes managed to stay up but despite the advancements on the Lexcorp suit, it was not enough as he was sent back towards some crates at high speed.

The only consolation Xerxes got was that the injected Quantum Vapor in his body had given him a higher pain tolerance than most men could have in their life times. The man got up and attacked again, using the fighting moves he learned in the mean streets as well as his weapons though he did retain enough common sense not to use the grenade launcher at close range. However he was facing a Spartan veteran and while John was not the best in CQC, he was not someone to laugh at either. he unleashed a number of high powered punches and kicks on the man and Xerxes gave just as much back though not in the same level of skill and ability as the Spartan.

The sounds of their attacks were enough to make Static and Gear move away as they could not help but feel a bit awed at how the two were going at it. And the results were obvious all over the place as the two Armored fighters were throwing punches and kicks on one another as well as other attacks involving hand to hand and occasionally the use of weapons to boot.

"Man...this beats any wrestling show I've seen."

Gear nodded in agreement as the two went at it though it was here that the Dakota media were now on the scene. Cortana was also scanning Xerxes to find out just what the Quantum Vapor had done to him when he inhaled the stuff. And the report was not the least bit good as the man's brain waves began to spike even more and there seemed to be an increase to his heart and breathing rate. She scanned him again and was surprised to see that his adrenaline glands were a lot larger now and was injecting surges of souped up adrenaline into the man.

"That is not good! That much adrenaline can drive a man into a berserk state!"

Sure enough, Xerxes began to go nuts as he charged at John, and the souped up adrenaline surging into the man's body as well as the increase given by the suit made him move faster and also hit harder as he closed the gap to hit John. The Spartan blocked the attacks but could tell that the man was a lot stronger than most people of his build and height, this reminded him of Insurrectionists who ingested the drug cocktail Rumble-drug in a vainglorious attempt to fight him and the other Spartans. The drug did make them powerful, but it had two deadly effects on the user, the first was that made them so aggressive they would tear through anything and anyone to attack their foes, and even if they made it, the drug tore their bodies apart, killing them in the process.

John knew that he was going to have to go at a more serious mode to take down this man before he ended up becoming a berserker as he powered up the Gauss Assault Rifle to full charge. Once he did so, he rapidly shot the man's knees and arms, causing Xerxes to cry out in pain and rage as his adrenaline was flowing through him, but even that and his higher pain tolerance could not counter the damage done by the Gauss Rounds as they tore through him. John quickly smashed the butt of his rifle in the man's chest forcing him back even more and John quickly hit with a punch and kick combination to send the man smashing into a large number of barrels filled with fluid that looked like coolant.

Xerxes tried to stand and fight despite the pain in his body and yanked on several wires, unaware that he had yanked out the wires from a portable power generator that unleashed a large amount of electricity, the energy surged over the man and it seemed to have a deadly effect on the areas of his armor that was bypassed by John's attacks. he screamed in pain and rage and spat at the Spartan.

"I hate you...I hate you! I will Destroy you..."

"M-Mark my...words! I will kill you! I will..."

John had enough and quickly charged in and struck the man at the back of the head to knock him out with his MJOLNIR's shields protecting him.

"Be quiet."

...

Later...

The Dakota PD arrived on the scene as well as a number of Alva's own security forces while the three made sure to secure the thugs who were of the regular variety and the ones who were the better armed and armored ones. Once that was done, the Dakota fire department were there and with the aid from the heroes as well as John the fires were soon being put out. It was going to be a while but at least things were better off as Alva's own forces were more than willing to help in cleaning up the mess. Once the fires were out, the cleanup was well underway and naturally, one of the people who was being taken away was the slightly smoking body of Xerxes. The good news for him was that he was not dead as despite what happened to him, his suit did provide him enough protection to keep him from dying instantly.

John watched as Xerxes was taken away under heavy guard, the comatose Intergang member had been a pain for him, not too much of a threat but he was never one to underestimate his foes. The only people who ever underestimated their enemies were the ones on the losing side, and John had plenty of lessons on that regard. Xerxes was no pushover either, it had been a while he had faced anyone who could fight him that way even if it was in a berserker state. However, as the Dakota PD was about to take the man away, several new cars arrived and out came several men with suits who appeared to take the gurney from the medical officials while showing badges to the protesting cops.

Static and Gear saw that and they wondered what was going. But John scanned the IDs and found them to be genuine, and as such these men had federal authority to take Xerxes away. Though he wondered for what purpose and no doubt Cortana thought the very same thing as well, as soon as things settled down, John decided to bid the two heroes farewell and left the area, but not before promising to give both Static and Gear something to thank them for what they had done. This made both teen heroes wonder just what the Spartan had in mind for the two of them, though John did make it clear to Gear that he was not giving up Cortana just yet.

Gear groaned at that but decided not to make an issue out of it. Though the two heroes did wonder just what sort of rewards the two had in mind for the two of them.

…

In Brazil a few days later...

John was currently flying over the continent inside a Pelican Drop-ship, he had gone here to the country after getting word from the New York branch of the FBI and the DEA that they had located a large drug factory hidden in the jungles of Brazil. This place however was off limits as there were some legitimate safeguards keeping the place safe from them. The drugs being produced there had apparently been spiked with some sort of new compound that had made the drugs harder to detect and also a bit more potent. Ever since these spiked drugs had been shipped to the US, namely in New York, the crime families and organizations that dealt in the stuff were back on their feet and causing problems. This was why both he and Diana in their hero disguises had been contacted by the FBI if they could help.

The two of them agreed and after interrogating some of the family heads after tearing through their organizations with the aid of John and Cortana's effective but non lethal methods and Diana's use of the Lasso that forced anyone to tell the absolute truth, they learned the possible reason why the authorities could not make a move on the place. Apparently the groups running the labs had friends in the Government and due to this, the FBI and the DEA could not make a move without alerting anyone.

Batman agreed and while he would have gone there himself, due to there being a Wayne Enterprises facility there in Brazil, he said that he had to remain in Gotham since the criminals there were getting fired up, not to mention that the Riddler as well as Bane were on the move so he, Nightwing, Bat-girl, and Robin had to remain in the field. This left it to Diana, John, and Cortana so John decided to go and handle this on his own, he did explain to Diana that New York would still need help if the drugs that they had not been able to seize got through the authorities and as such, one of them had to help the people there.

Diana nodded and stayed behind, but she made sure to request to join him if there was another mission. And there was one as John planned to go to Metropolis at some point to get information about the Suit that was worn by the now comatose Xerxes and see if there was something that he could learn. He did not mind and promised the Amazon princess that he would make sure that they worked together on that particular mission once he was done putting a stop to the drugs and whatever chemical was being used to make them harder to find and more potent than before.

As soon as he got there, he rappelled down into the jungle as he managed to get the location of the plant but decided to observe and report for the time being. He and Cortana needed to gather evidence to not only find out who was the leader of this outfit but to find out who in the government was keeping them away from the law. Once that was done, he would let the Brazilian authorities handle it as this was their jurisdiction though he would have the make sure that the evidence was handled by the uncorrupted authorities.

He moved deeper into the jungle with his Sniper Rifle in hand and looking about to avoid possible ambushes and traps that were in the area as he knew that he was a few hours away from the target location. The Spartan's senses were on full alert as he knew that anyone with the profits of the drugs would have hired a serious amount of security to keep the place from being discovered by anyone either by accident, being sent in by their rivals, and those who worked with the law. That would mean that caution would be advisable for him, it was there and then that he was warned by Cortana of movement.

"Chief, I am picking up several trucks moving at a round a few minutes from you, judging from the thermal signatures on the back I can wager a bet there are large numbers of them. Not sure who they are just yet but I can say that they seem to be heading in the direction of the plant we happen to be sent to observe."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing yet, but a good number of the ones happen to be unarmed while the others are armed to the teeth, not sure who they are, but if I have to wager a guess, they would have to be the guards and the others no doubt are the slave labor of some sort."

John nodded and decided to see just what Cortana had spotted to make sure that they were the actual thing, he moved away from the previous path while making sure not to make any unnatural movement to avoid being detected. As he followed the trucks he looked with the Sniper Rifle and sure enough the group in question who were armed certainly fit the criteria of being guards, while the others looked like the villagers he, Diana, Cortana, and Mari had saved back in Africa. They appeared to be from the slums judging by the clothing they had on them, along with the dirt and grime on their faces. John had no doubt that they were either paid for this kind of work or were kidnapped as well. The Spartan looked to see what else was going to happen while tracking the vehicles but then the Spartan stopped as the vehicles did the same thing. He could not see any reason for them to stop as none of them had flat tires, and the vehicles didn't make any noise related to damaged parts.

It was there that Cortana told him that she was picking up two signals on the Motion Sensor and quickly showed him an incoming satellite video feed. The Spartan spotted as figure in green flame of all things and someone riding a large wave of ice. The second the armed thugs got out and began firing at the figures who arrived, John now guessed just why they stopped. Cortana then commented on the new arrivals.

"Well, at least we know just why they decided to stop don't we?"

"I noticed. Well, now we have to get involved."

The Spartan did just that as he began to aim and fire at the vehicles, using the shouts of the thugs, and the gunfire to cover his own attack as he had attached a muzzle break in the Sniper Rifle to kill the noise. He used the basic rounds to take out the engine blocks and quickly switched to TTRs and Taser Rounds as using live ammunition with this many civilians in the cross fire was a disaster waiting to happen. He moved in and quickly caught a number of the guards off guard as they were suddenly being taken down fast and hard by their new attacker, while the two new arrivals who John was able to see were women were initially surprised to see him. That surprise however faded as they helped him out in neutralizing the guards who were still getting used to being attacked on all sides.

...

It was not long before the battle had ended, thankfully the combined assault had caught the thugs with their proverbial pants down and not many people were harmed, namely those of the unarmed and civilian type. John questioned the leader of the thugs and while the man resisted, John decided to use a special injection to make him talk. It was a truth serum from a kit he usually carried as per ONI policy if getting fresh intel was vital and transporting a live subject was out of the question.

Once he got what he needed from the man, he knocked him out and tied him up, believing that getting more solid evidence from the factory database itself would provide more concrete results.

John looked at the woman before him as she landed in a wreath of green flames to the ground in the clearing, and he turned his attention to the other woman who was coming down on a ramp of pure ice. Once the two were there, the green flame covered woman seemed to remove the flame around her to reveal her real form as she and her companion walked up to the Spartan who lowered his Gauss MA5C Assault Rifle in a show of non-hostile intent.

The woman who used green flame was definitely a fan of the color green as her hair was green, along with her eye color that seemed to glow slightly which was no doubt a residual effect of her powers, along with her outfit that comprised of a skin tight green pants, deep green half ankle length boots. The woman also was rather attractive and seemed to be like a super-model. The other woman who was now with her apparent partner seemed to have her choice of uniform in the theme of ice and water, navy blue with white and her hair was deep white despite the fact that she looked to be around her mid twenties. She had deep blue eyes and she was attractive as well as her friend as the two of them were now walking towards the Spartan who was checking his MA5C Assault and the SRS 99D-AM S2 Sniper Rifle on his back.

Cortana then spoke to him in a very amused tone.

"You know, if I didn't know any better Chief, you're becoming a babe magnet."

John could not help but wonder just where that comment came from and replied in his usual fashion.

"Now is not the time for that sort of thing Cortana."

"I know, but it's not bad to mention at all anyway, but I do have some files on them. Want to hear what I happen to have on just who we are with right now?"

"Go ahead."

"Okay, the woman with the serious liking for green happens to be a Brazilian Government secret agent with the real name of Beatriz Bonilla de Costa who was a supermodel who was exposed to some sort of experimental substance known as Pyroplasm. This gave her the ability to launch green flames, fly in a mode that allows her to be covered in flame as well, it might not seem like much, but the flame seems to be a lot hotter than regular flame and is more around the area of plasma though not in the same level. Though that might seem like an odd power, it can be a real aid if used in the right situation and against the right foe to use it on. Despite being a model before being a secret agent, Beatriz is not someone to look down upon as she happens to be very fit and no doubt has been trained in covert ops tactics, combat skills, and carries the same traits of someone who has close combat training and self defense skills. And no doubt she's got training on how to seduce men who are her targets if needed, though considering her colorful personality, she might not need to put too much effort in that regard."

"The other one happens to be known as Ice for obvious reasons while her real name happens to be Tora Olafsdotter, she apparently seems to be descended from a group of people who happen to have developed the ability to command ice and snow in Norway though I have the verify this first. She also happens to have a very strong level of hand to hand combat skills so it would mean that she received combat training either from her people or from her experiences abroad. She seems to be a bit more naive and a bit more 'innocent' in the way of the world, just like Diana in a sense though it seems that she happens to be a lot more experienced than our Amazon friend. She seems to be good friends with Fire and no doubt must be the one that Fire watches over though considering the flirting nature of the woman in question, she must serve as the voice of reason. So far I cannot exactly say when they joined up, but there's no doubt that they are good friends. Though one has to question if their friendship is a bit different. They could very well be..."

John sighed at that and replied.

"Don't finish that sentence Cortana please...I don't need that idea in my head."

Cortana laughed gently and replied.

"Relax John, I was just teasing you, though I have no doubt that you don't have problems with people with that kind of orientation."

"None at all, if that is the way they like it, then that is their business and not mine."

"I see, though I can bet that a lot of guys back in the UNSC would not mind..."

"Cortana..."

The A.I smiled a bit at the way John spoke and replied.

"Okay then, besides, I don't have any files on them that speak of that so it's safe assume that their relationship is strictly friendly and platonic, speaking of which, looks like they want a word with you."

Fire the very first to speak as she looked at the Spartan who was still in the MJOLNIR, she had heard about him and seen the TV footage and so was very curious about the man in the Armor. Not to mention that she was just as curious what he looked like underneath it as well.

"Greetings to you Spartan, didn't expect you would come all the way to sunny Brazil of all places, you here on business or a vacation?"

"Business, came here to put a stop to the drug labs that these thugs were sending these people to."

Fire frowned a bit and so did Ice as the unarmed civilians were now heading back to their homes, as it turned out a majority of them had been kidnapped and taken away from their homes. Once that was done they were hidden in some docks and then shipped here. The green haired heroine then replied.

"Then I guess that we will be working together then, I got word of many people being kidnapped a few days ago, the thing was that they were all poor folk who had nothing to begin with. The authorities got concerned when large numbers of them disappeared without a trace though most would think that it was not something to be bothering about. It became a serious matter when one of them managed to make it to a police station before being killed out in public. That was why me and Ice got involved."

Ice nodded as she spoke to.

"This kind of treatment is wrong in many ways, these people may not have many things in their possession, but they have their lives and their dignity as living beings. If we can stop them from being used like this, then all the better for everyone involved."

John could see that they were serious and since Fire was from Brazil, he could be better off working with her and Cortana agreed with that assessment as well.

"All right, we'd best move quickly, no doubt the forces in the plant are going to know something is up."

...

It did not take long for the trio to arrive on the plant and John went back to work in neutralizing the guards at long range with TTRs, he naturally located any snipers, heavy weapon users, and those who were exceptionally alert in the area. Once they were taken out, the three of them moved in and soon all hell broke loose as the remaining guards had little to no warning of the attacks and were not able to respond well enough. They had not expected anyone who would be willing to launch an attack on them, even more so when there were only three of them. Apparently the forces knew who Fire and Ice were as they focused their initial attacks on the two women, but that was a mistake as John quickly took them down and supported the two when they needed it.

He headed for the factory database area and Cortana was soon able to get the files and discover that several high ranking officials and their toadies in the government were getting very hefty payoffs to keep the place protected. But now with the data in hand, that was going to change and since Fire was a high ranking covert agent of the government, they would have little doubt of the authentic nature of the evidence. It was not easy as the trio had to deal with more of the thugs who had managed to make things a lot more interesting in the battle, and also there were still the previous people who were used as labor in the place. Many of them were from the slums while others were from more affluent places in Brazil, all of whom had to be taken out carefully as some had even been turned into drug addicts, no doubt serving as lab animals to test the potency of the new drugs. Naturally all of that angered the three heroes as well as Cortana.

Cortana's estimation of Fire and Ice's combat skills were up to the mark as they proved capable in their own right, John recorded their abilities well and made sure to keep the files for a better time. He had a feeling that they could become good allies to call upon if the league ever needed help in a situation where more was better. He had no idea when that was going to happen or if the others would approve but it was better to have the files either way since they had no idea what would happen.

Once the place was cleaned up, Fire called in the government and also sent away several copies to her handlers who she knew were honest and loyal members to maintaining justice in her homeland. As they rested from the fight, that was where Fire decided to ask the Spartan a few questions.

"Are you part of some new group?"

"You could say that, if you want to know, there is a new group being formed from some of the heroes you might know of and I am one of them."

"Oh, what would that be?"

John decided to tell them about the League that was proposed by Superman and that seemed to interest both Fire and Ice for some reason, judging from their facial expressions. They asked who were the members and John mentioned that the team included him, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and J'onn. He also did not forget to introduce the two to Cortana and state that she was the official ninth of the group. Naturally Fire and Ice were really intrigued by that and were pleasantly surprised to meet Cortana herself as well as they had never seen a Smart A.I before.

It was also here that Ice decided to ask a question.

"Are there any openings for the League to take in other heroes?"

John shook his head and replied.

"I am not sure of any just yet, Superman started the group so it will be up to him and the others if they would accept new members."

Fire then smiled and asked a question.

"Do you think we'd be able to join the League at some point? We're not as well known as the ones in the League but we're willing to do what we can to show that we can handle it."

"I'll keep that in mind, if the League does decide to expand, though I do not know when, I'll mention the two of you, you work as an effective team already so I think that should help place you in the League if it does expand to include new members."

Ice smiled a bit at that.

"You really think so?"

John nodded and that seemed to make Fire and Ice's day as he decided to take his leave, when asked by Fire with a glint in her emerald eyes if he would not mind staying for a while in Brazil so she could show him around, he replied that he would have to think about it. Cortana smirked at that as she spoke to the Spartan in secret.

"You know she was checking you out right Chief?"

"Pardon?"

"Oh...we'll have that conversation for another time, anyway, I think that those packages we sent Static and gear should have arrived by now, hopefully that should make their lives a lot easier being heroes."

"Indeed, but what was it that you added in Richie's package?"

"Sorry John, that's a secret, suffice to say it should make him happier and give him a chance to upgrade his gear to something a lot more...charming."

…

In Dakota...

Virgil and Richie were currently in their bas as they had gotten some new packages from two unknown people who went by the name of Lenoidas and Gorgo. Once the two of them checked their history books on the names, they quickly high tailed it to their base with the packages. Richie managed to avoid alerting his parents who naturally were not aware that their son was the tech hero Gear and that his partner Static was his long time friend Virgil, that was not easy to do. Virgil on the other hand was better off as his father was aware of his secret and helped him move without alerting Sharon.

Richie looked at the box and wondered just what was in his container though he was naturally interested in what it was that the Chief and Cortana had sent to them. Virgil thought the very same thing and he was curious to see just what was in his own container.

"What do you think Chief and Cortana sent us V?"

"Not a clue Rich, but I have no doubt it can help."

They were right in that regard as Virgil found in his package a suit of armor that was a full body suit without any head coverings, it was not a massive suit at all but seemed to be very light weight and had ceramic plates in key areas as well. He read the note that was there with the armor suit that it was made from high grade Kevlar with diamond weave which would give him better protection from injury along with the ceramic plates that would add good protection. It was all light weight and as such should not be too much for him as it was based on a suit of infantry combat armor. There was also some medical supplies to help him patch up any injuries that he might get at some point and there would be blue prints in the data-pads in the package on how to make the device to make more of the medical supplies.

In Gear's case, he found that he had several new computer parts and plans on how to assemble them, as well as how to create a portable hydrogen fueled generator that relied on water. This way they did not have to take power from the electrical grid or use Static's powers. There were also some new upgrades for his own gear that would make them better and harder to bypass just in case someone got lucky in managed to infiltrate the systems themselves, something that he was happy for ever since that incident with Dr. Rpberts. There was also the same kind of armor for him though it was armed with more pockets to store his gear and also some extra support software that was in the package.

But the real prize...at least to him was a copy of Cortana's avatar construction data and some advise on how to program it to suit him asit would aid him and Backpack if they needed extra tech support and muscle. Cortana however did mention that she had left a copy of her personality as the core piece so it would not be alien to him at all. She also made sure to mention that she had placed safety locks to keep her...copy from being compromised in any fashion.

Richie was all smiles at that and replied.

"Looks like Christmas came in early V!"

"Yeah, just try not to make that copy of Cortana too...risque Rich, I don't think that's a good idea."

"I know, but it sure would be cool either way."

...

In Metropolis a week later…

Kara was currently filling in for her cousin as she had been told by Clark that he and the others had something to take care of. When she heard about the League being formed, the young alien woman was eager to try it out and see if she could help. Clark however refused on the grounds that she was not yet ready for it. She tried to defend herself in the fact that she was capable in her own right, and Clark didn't refute that either. He however explained that she was still in need of time to being a hero and he did promise that when she was ready, he would call her. She reluctantly agreed as she knew that her cousin was right, he had been in this hero thing for years before she came so he did know what he was talking about. And at least she was not alone as Steel was there to help out as well and while she was not sure what to make of Steel at first, the fact that she had worked with him for a while now and Clark trusted him. And if he trusted Steel, then she could trust him as well.

As she flew over Metropolis, she was curious about what the Spartan was up to, as she had gotten the news of what had gone down in Africa and in Dakota and was surprised to see the whole thing play out in national television. SO far she had not seen or heard anything afterwards that was on the case of the Spartan himself and the same could be said for Wonder Woman.

(No doubt they were doing great work in keeping New York safe along with helping out the others in Africa and Dakota...I wish something was going to happen soon, I am getting...)

Kara got her answer as her super hearing picked up the sounds of bank sirens going wild and the the sounds of gunfire below. she moved in and sure enough there were some new guys attacking the place and taking the loot and getting away from the police. The police had to deal with the ones who had been injured in the skirmish and Supergirl decided to head down there quickly and stop the robbers. Once she arrived on the ground she quickly stopped the very first vehicle and forced out the robbers, who began to fire at her with their guns, apparently they were either novices or not from around Metropolis as such attacks were naturally useless on her and her cousin. But they did annoy her as she quickly moved to take them down, though she made sure to tone down her strength avoid hurting them too badly in battle. The first few goons were down and out but the others were not giving up as they continued to attack the Argoan teen.

One tried to ram her with the car he drove and she stopped him cold and lifted the car and shook the driver and his buddies out of the car directly, it was here however that some of the thugs took out some rocket launchers, catching her by surprise as they fired at her, Kara had no choice but to hold on and brace as trying to knock those aside could harm the people around the area just in case the missiles went wild.

BOOM!

Kara was sent back a bit as she shook her head and was coughing, but she was suddenly bathed in light and once the smoke cleared and she looked to what the light was, and got her answer as she found herself staring at the Spartan himself who was carrying a Battle Rifle, two M6G Magnums on the thigh plates and on his back was a rucksack and an M90A Shotgun. The Spartan quickly fired his weapons at lightning speed and took out the thugs who were still flabbergasted at his sudden arrival and now they were on the ground bleeding on their arms and knees.

John then scanned the area to see if they were the last and moved out to restrain the ones who he had shot with his Battle Rifle. Once he was done and could see that medical services were there to tend to the injured, he made his way to Supergirl to see how she was doing.

Kara managed to dust herself a bit as she looked to see the Spartan walking up to her, it had been some time since she had seen the Spartan and it was still a bit hard for her to see him. The man was tall and the armor was still a bit intimidating to the young heroine. However, she decided not to let that bother her too much as she spoke to the man.

"It's good to see you again Spartan, I had no idea that you were here."

John nodded a bit as he looked his BR55 HB SR Battle Rifle over for battle damage, finding none, he spoke to Kara as she seemed to be all right.

"I was in the neighborhood, you all right?"

Kara nodded and replied.

"I am fine, it's going to take more than a few hits like that to take me down."

John could see that easily enough but was not very convinced. If there was one thing that John knew, overconfidence was a surefire way to get one in a very bad situation, and even killed. That much he knew from his training and his long experiences in war time which was why he replied.

"Don't be overconfident, overconfidence can be fatal no matter who you are."

Kara looked at the Spartan and wondered if he was looking down on her, but she squashed that thought. She didn't know everything about the guy so she could not make any snap calls, as Clark and her adopted uncle Johnathan talked to her about that part of herself. She decided to take his word for it and replied.

"All right, so what brings you here to Metropolis? Aren't you based in New York alongside Wonder Woman?"

The Spartan nodded and replied.

"This has to do with some actions taken by Intergang in Dakota."

Kara frowned a bit as she had heard the news about Xerxes and Intergang being in Dakota, she had hoped that she and her cousin had finally put that bunch to rest, but it looked like they were not gone just yet.

"Them again? I heard about what went down there in Dakota...bad stuff, so you think that the Intergang groups here in Metropolis had a hand in that whole affair?"

"Yes, that's why I am here, not to mention that I need to find out just how the plans for Luthor's Power Armor Suit leaked out and got into the hands of a gang like them."

Kara was silent for a moment and smiled at the Spartan as this was a good time for her to get to know the man who was now being seen as a hero, after all he had saved her and her cousin back there in the World Assembly and this was the time to thank him.

"By the way, thanks for helping me and my cousin Superman back there in the World Assembly a few months back, though I don't exactly like your methods despite what you said to my cousin when he came to meet you, and what my uncle said."

"None taken, I am a soldier Miss Kent so I do what I have to and if it is appropriate."

"Okay, but if you're here in Metropolis, I hope you don't decide to use those less than non lethal methods of yours, I'd have a heck of a time dealing with that and I doubt my cousin would love that situation."

John nodded and replied.

"I'll do my best."

"At any rate, are you the only one here? Or is Wonder Woman coming to help out in this case?"

Kara's two questions were quickly answered as a Javelin arrived on site and out came Wonder Woman herself, the Amazon had decided to accompany the Spartan on this investigation as she wanted to know about the city that was under her fellow Leaguer Superman's watch. She looked about and had to admit that it was rather impressive looking though she noted that it was not as...quaint as New York where she and the Spartan were based in.

"So this is Superman's city? It's a beautiful place."

Kara was surprised by the arrival of the Amazon and the same could be said for the people there who had finally gotten away from where they had been hiding ever since the bank robbery that Supergirl had foiled. The police reinforcements arrived and soon enough the mess was being cleaned up by them as John and Diana helped with the injured along with Kara. Once they did their parts in helping the medical services with the wounded police officers as well as any bystanders caught in the crossfire, the three heroes were soon on their own way to find out just what Intergang was up to, but not before being approached by none other than Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen who apparently were there in the area for a break from the Daily Planet and it was not long before the reporter spoke to the Spartan.

"Small world huh Spartan? We've already met there in the World Assembly a few months back and on that interview you requested before the Invasion came down, so I have only one question for you. What are you doing here in Metropolis?"

John usually did not have the time to deal with the media and did only what he could to make them get enough information to leave him alone to do what he knew had to be done. But knowing that Lois was someone Superman cared for and had a very good track record for getting the truth, made him decide to explain a bit. Besides, considering Lois' file he and Cortana developed a respect for her nature and willingness to go all out for the truth.

"Here on an investigation Miss Lane, nothing more."

Lois smirked and replied.

"Really? You look more like you are going to war with that much firepower on you."

John shrugged.

"It's a habit, one I have no intention of giving up."

Lois nodded and then directed her attention to Diana and spoke.

"And you're accompanied by Wonder Woman herself I see."

Diana nodded and replied.

"Yes, I came here to assist my fellow Leaguer and friend on his investigation sister."

It was there and then that Lois' rival in the Daily Planet, one Angela Chen came to the scene. She did not waste time at all and quickly was alongside the Spartan and asked him her very first question though not before introducing herself to the man.

"Hello there, I am Angela Chen from the Daily Planet, I know that this is not a new question for the two of you, but could you comment on the rumors going on about the two of you?"

John could not help but sigh a bit mentally and replied.

"What sort of rumors are you referring to Miss Chen?"

"That you and Wonder Woman are a couple?"

Diana raised an eyebrow at this, John felt like shaking his head, Kara raised an eyebrow as well, and the audience were now curious on what was going to happen, unaware that the Spartan was currently chatting with the other member of the League, Cortana.

"Not this again..."

Cortana laughed a bit and replied.

"Can't be helped John, you two make a very interesting couple after all."

John mentally wished that he was not in front of the media and back to his mission, he wanted to know just who had supplied Intergang and Xerxes with the supplies and plans to make that Power Armor of theirs from before. He wished he was able to talk to the man himself but with Xerxes down and out after their battle and in a coma, that was one avenue that was closed to him until the man recovered fully though that was going to be a while. That fact was even more emphasized to him when the federal government took Xerxes from the local Dakota PD who were about to take him for medical treatment days before. He wondered just what was going to happen should that man return, though it was hard to say since he was both gone and a vegetable for the time being.

…

In a hidden complex...

"How is he?"

The person in question looked down to a nearby room where a number of doctors and scientists were currently scanning a figure in armor, and there were a number of armed guards there as well. No doubt the guards there were sent to make sure that the man was not going to go anywhere. Though how that could happen was still a mystery as 'Xerxes' was very much out cold like a bloody light. The person was soon joined by another who spoke.

"He will live though he is going to need some serious medical help...hard to believe we're going to be using this...thug as one of our test subjects."

"It can't be helped...he's fused with the armor and the Quantum Vapor has also melded his consciousness into the armor."

"So why don't we just take it off of him?"

Another spoke as he showed them some papers.

"Removing it will kill him, the life support system in the armor's been fused to him in critical areas, therefore, any effort to separate him from the suit will result in death even though the Quantum Vapor can help. However his memories of the Spartan are still intact...namely those that deal with his hatred of the man, we could use that our advantage."

"Turn him into a weapon to counter the Spartan should he go...rogue?"

The third man nodded at that and the first speaker turned.

"Then do what you can, this will be useful if and when we need it. What about our teams in New York? Have they found the Spartan's base of operations?"

"None as of yet, for a man who's wearing the most advanced armor that I have seen in my life, he's not the easiest man to find. I swear that man must have undergone some very intense infiltration training to have evaded us for so long. But we will find him."

"We should, that man's technology and abilities will be useful and can be a boon to our mission, and if we can convince him to side with us, then all the better."

"That might prove a problem if he decides to turn down the offer, what should we do if he decides to turn us down?"

"Then we use everything we have to convince him, if not by words and rewards, then with action and punishment...and if that does not work, then we don't give up, we add to the pressure. But if all else fails, then use any means, lethal if we have to in order to take him down. Take his armor and whatever we can get."

"And our newest...recruit?"

"He will be ready, and we will do whatever we can so if the time comes to test him out, we will release him, what data he can get will be useful for what we must do."

"So we will send him out soon?"

"Yes...with some...discrete modifications of course."

...

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Hi there, been a while since I got back to working on this story huh?

Anyway, I hope that this shows that I am still doing my best to make good work for you readers. If it is up to the standard then that is good news to me. But if not, then you will have to forgive me since I am still trying to get used to being this far away from a decent working computer. And if this is too long, then I apologize as this was not easy to cook up with the time and circumstances I have to work with.

My PC is also out for the count again as it suffered surge damage so it's back in the shop of my cousin so I have to buy a UPS soon. And I do have some good news.

I graduated now so I can now work and earn my own money, it's not much to most people, but it is to me.

With that out of the way, I am going to go to the story...

I know that I would have worked with Fire only since John is in her homeland, but since it was mentioned that Fire and her friend Ice always work together, I decided to include Ice as well. I did read their comic book origins and this will be seen in the story. And yes, that includes Fire's flirtatious nature and Ice's naive nature as in the comic books, though there will be a mix of their DCAU personality traits as well. And you can bet that there will be some interaction between the two women and John that can have some interesting results in the future. You can also bet the same thing when we allow Kara to work with John as well as Steel on their own caper in the next chapter.

I also have a feeling that there will be another battle between Jacob and John soon enough, just because he is down does not mean he is out as he will return. What exactly will Cadmus do to him now that they have their hands on him after the battle? That will be up to me after all, but you can bet that once they start working on him, he will become a real pain in the neck for John.

I also have plans for one MJOLNIR variant to see action in the Atlantean Arc and it will be geared for naval warfare work, namely in underwater combat. How that will perform is up to me so this will be the first of my Custom variant MJOLNIRs in action.

I will conclude the meeting between John, Cortana, Diana, Kara and John Henry at the later chapter and soon we are going to Atlantis!

...

One major concern I have for the coming Paradise Lost arc will be how to allow John to fight Hades. I obviously cannot have John chucking lightning bolts at him, shooting fireballs, or saying incantations since despite how interesting it would be, it sounds and feels totally weird...or as my favorite Discovery TV host Adam Savage would say...'Total Bupkis'.

This is the same issue I had in my WOW/Halo story as John being a man of science and technology would not really take interest in magic or mysticism, so to give him a chance in dealing with magic and naturally magical beings in question, I decided on making him use ammunition and weapons that can counter magical effects or defenses.

I might do the same thing here, but how to make it all work and be worthwhile without looking like some attempt at making a Gary Stu moment where it would demean everything I have done until now is going to be a brain wrecker. But I hope that it will work out since giving John a fighting chance against an honest to God...well God, is a seriously necessary thing.

If it works, then I am happy, plus make no mistake that despite his abilities, hidden augmentations, and new equipment, John WILL be feeling it in the morning when it is all over. But will it actually have an interesting result...namely when it concerns Diana, Donna, Hippolyta, and the other Amazons as the battle that will be between Hades and John as well as the others will be explosive to the core...namely when John does go toe to toe with Hades.

Or I could try having John get some...aid, from who is still up to me so he will be given a chance to face Hades in battle or it could be a combination of both. And you can bet that the Gods in the DCAU universe WILL take notices of the Master Chief, even more so when he and Hades go to battle.

But that will be for another time so don't ask me too many questions.

...

See you all later!


	10. Chapter 10

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to DC or Bungie so don't bother asking.

Chapter 6

Deep Sea Diplomacy…

( ): Thoughts

…

In the Watch Tower…

Superman shook his head a bit as he looked at the images of the battle in Metropolis though it was not in a bad way. He, J'onn, Hawkgirl, Flash, and Green Lantern had arrived back to Earth after a long effort in dealing with the events surrounding the Man-Hunters and the Guardians. They had cleared Stewart's name and also stopped what could have been a disaster of galactic proportions and it was good that John finally got to be free to operate as a Green Lantern. He and Shaeyra were not too happy with how some of the other Lanterns had turned on him for a crime he had never committed but he eventually made peace with them and now they were back.

Batman was there to greet them in his own way along with the Master Chief and Wonder Woman and they were able to see just what had happened while they had been away from Earth.

The events in Metropolis were fairly big as John and Diana had managed to help Steel and Supergirl with the group of Intergang along with two old headaches, that being Luminous and Metallo who had decided to cause more trouble while Superman was away on the mission to clear Stewart's name. Metallo had been a major concern due to his Kryptonite heart and so was Luminous who's use of lasers and solid light technology had been a concern.

Metallo had been a real danger to Supergirl but she was aided by Diana while John and Steel took on both the cyborg and the renegade scientist who had once tried to kill Lois and also defeat Superman using red sun radiation. Thankfully the battle had not resulted in severe injuries though Supergirl had to rest in order to recover. She had suffered very dangerous injuries due to Metallo's kryptonite heart and his lasers and had to be tended to for a while in the Watch Tower after the battle and when John took Metallo's kryptonite heart while Diana dealt with Luminous along with Steel.

Metallo and Luminous were soon hauled away and would be kept in isolation cells as John concerned himself with checking on Supergirl. It was when she fully recovered, that she was able to spend time with the two heroes along with Steel in the Watch Tower as well as meeting Cortana herself, much to Batman's chagrin as he had managed to stop another attempt on Commissioner Gordon's life by the Riddler and had come in to check on the Watch Tower and see what had been going on since he had been last in the tower. Supergirl then left along with Steel in one of the Javelins as the Dawn was still elsewhere and the Spartan was not yet sure that showing the interior of the Dawn to Kara was the best of ideas at this time.

As soon as the images ended, Superman spoke to the Spartan.

"Not too bad, and I have admit that what you and Diana did in Dakota, Africa, Brazil, and Metropolis was pretty good, how is Kara doing?"

"She's recovered well enough though I would like it better that she takes some time to get herself enough rest. All in all, with some time and training, plus experience, she will do well enough in what she needs to do."

"You have a point there, at least Metallo is gone for now, that one always was a big problem for both of us. Anyway, you and Diana don't happen to have any other missions that we should be aware of?"

"Not right now, why?"

John Stewart answered that question well enough.

"We've been talking about it on the way back here, and we should at least call to the World Assembly and inform them officially of the formation of the Justice League. That way it will be officially recognized and not be seen as just a bunch of super powered beings coming and going, we might be helping people, but we still have to show that we're an official group."

John thought about it and so did Cortana as she was still in the MJOLNIR, in a way this was the same as when the Spartan II Program went public for morale during the war. The only difference was that several of them were publicly known, them being Superman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and Flash. He, Diana, and J'onn were the unknowns and as such had to be seen in public even despite their appearances in the public out there in New York.

"You sure about that?"

Superman nodded.

"We need to do this so that the people become aware of what is going on and why we are working together, I have no doubt that this is a tall order for some of us, but if we can assure the people that we have their best interests first and foremost, then it is going to be a lot better for all involved."

"All right, I'll inform Princess Diana about this and see what she thinks."

…

In the World Assembly…

Thankfully Diana was more than willing to go along with the idea of being present in the World Assembly as she was willing to show that she was not a threat to man's world. That was good news and since Flash and Batman did not have anything that would be of concern going on in their respective cities, they were available for this. Superman was the one who decided to get things rolling for the rest of the team as he went to Lois Lane and the others that the Daily Planet to inform her and Jimmy, as well as Perry of what was going to happen.

As soon as the news came out, the public were more than eager to get the latest news about this band of heroes that were now working together. And there were plenty of rumors going on as well about the heroes who were making up this force that was soon going to be seen in the World Assembly. This sort of thing was more than enough to get the attention of all the government officials from all over the world, even from nations that had a less than stellar record with the global community.

It was going to be held in a day to allow the heroes the square away anything that was of concern to them. Superman decided to tell his adopted parents about his plans along with Kara, Flash talked to his friends and allies in Central, Green lantern went back to his neighborhood and talked to some of his old friends there to also try to reconnect with them, and Batman left instructions to his family to hold the fort until he got back.

The only exceptions to the group were the Master Chief, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl and J'onn as they did not have anyone they knew who lived on Earth, which was why they were currently in the Dawn and talking about things on what they should say when the day came.

As the building was filled by government officials, reporters, and more besides, it was not long for the Justice League to arrive on the scene, with Superman being the fist, Batman following next, then Flash, Hawkgirl, J'onn, the Master Chief with Cortana in tow, and Wonder Woman herself. As they moved to the stage, the head of the World Assembly greeted them.

"To all esteemed members of the World Assembly and representatives of your respective nations, I bid you welcome. Today is a very special event as we have before us the same collection of heroes who several months ago fought an alien invasion of our world and today has called for this meeting. Speaking for this new team shall be Metropolis's own hero Superman."

The speaker moved away and Superman moved forward to the microphone and then spoke to it.

"Good day to all esteemed members of the Assembly, as you all have known, the invasion that happened several months ago was a blow that many of us, including myself had not expected. And I am sad to say that I unwittingly did play a part in helping this invasion, but thankfully it has been stopped and the Imperium has been forced away from Earth, but it was not gone by one hero alone, but by a group of heroes…who stand before you now."

"We all have agreed to work as a team to better protect the Earth from any dangers that may befall it's people as being in a group is better than doing it alone. This team is known in the name of the Justice League, and apart from me, they comprise of Batman from Gotham city."

Batman gave a simple nod at this as Superman continued to speak.

"Flash from Central City."

The Speedster of the bunch gave a cheeky grin and waved that the people, eliciting some chuckles along with some shaking of the heads.

"Hawkgirl."

Hawkgirl bowed her head a bit while holding her mace by the band that she had on her wrist.

"Green Lantern."

Stewart gave a nod in reply to that as he was still a bit uncomfortable with the whole affair but kept himself composed.

"J'onn Jonzz, the last survivor of the Martian race and the one who called us to fight the Imperium."

The last of the Martians nodded as well and bowed in greeting.

"And the Spartan and Wonder Woman from New York."

Wonder Woman smiled and John merely nodded as well as he was still not comfortable with the idea of so many people watching him. It was only with Diana's encouragement and Cortana's words that he decided to let this go on. This was like that ceremony back in ODP Cairo in the First Battle of Earth with Johnson and that memory made John sigh a bit more.

Superman then continued to speak to the rest of the press and the people there in the World Assembly.

"They are the core members of the League and while this group is relatively new, it is our hope that this team will be able to defend Earth far better than one lone hero. If there are any questions that you have concerning this group, then feel free to ask them to any of us."

That was when one reporter spoke to Diana.

"I have one for Wonder Woman."

Diana nodded and that was enough to tell the reporter that she was willing to answer his question.

"Are you from New York?"

"No, I was born in the Amazon island of Themyscira, and I came here to help protect Man's world since I could not sit idly by when danger threatened it."

"I see, how do you find the outside world?"

"It's interesting, there are things that I have never seen before or experienced here in this world of men, so I cannot really fully answer such a question."

It was also here that another person rose, this time it was a military man who wore the usual uniform associated with the Navy and with his medals as well as his stars, he was a Vice Admiral of the US Navy.

"I have a question for the Spartan."

John moved forward and saluted the man in crisp military fashion as befitting the man's position in the military, as well as due to his upbringing to respect military authority figures who's rank supersedes his own.

The Vice Admiral gave the same salute to the Spartan and introduced himself.

"My name is Vice Admiral Daniel Whitcomb, who are you soldier?"

"I am Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 of the United Nations Space Command Navy sir!"

Admiral Whitcomb and just about everyone in the military contingent were surprised by that as they all knew that there was no such organization that was in place under that name. That was what prompted the Vice Admiral to ask his next question though this time around he used the shorter term for the rank John held as he knew that this was an NCO Naval rank. Though this was the first time he had heard of a Master Chief Petty Officer being like this before him and someone who fought the way he did in the battle-field.

"Where are you from Master Chief?"

"I am from an alternate reality sir, there in my reality it is already the year 2553."

This got the attention of the military, the government, and the media as well, that was to be expected as they had not expected the Spartan to be from an alternate reality, and certainly not from the future. Naturally there were some people who were not too keen on taking that announcement from the Spartan at face value. One such person was also a high ranking member of the military who apparently had an army commission and was a three star general.

"I am General Wade Eiling of the United States Army, I am not implying anything Spartan, but how can we be sure that you are telling the truth?"

Superman spoke at that point.

"We all in the League had taken steps to confirm the authenticity of his story General Eiling, and we have confirmed without a doubt that he speaks the truth."

That was when another reporter turned her attention to the Spartan.

"Marlene Fairchild from the BBC in London England, I have a question for the Spartan, what exactly are the differences between your reality and our own?"

John looked at the other League members briefly, silently asking them if they were all right with him revealing the information. They nodded though he was sure to leave the UNSC Covenant War out, as well as the war with the Flood, and he was certainly not going to reveal anything about the Spartan II Program either. With that in mind, and Cortana also agreeing with the choice, he answered the question that was placed before him.

"In my reality, the most common thing is that there are no metahumans, mutants, and aliens that most of you are aware of. There is also the fact that in my reality, humanity was under one global governing body, the United Earth Government, and it's exploratory, military, and science organization known as the United Nations Space Command. As stated, the UEG combines all the known countries and governments into one organization and the UNSC unites all military forces under one organization to serve as the primary defensive arm of the UEG. And in my reality, Humanity has colonized worlds inside and outside the solar system…controlling over 800 worlds, all of which are protected by Colonial Militia, Police, SWAT, along with the UNSC Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and it's other special forces branches, including the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and the Spartan II Commandos like myself."

John might not have given the World Assembly and everyone in the room the full details of what he had told the League, but the effects of his announcement certainly had an impact. The World Assembly, and just about everyone in the room and those watching at home were utterly stunned at the ramifications of that much information. The idea of an alternate universe where there were no meta-humans, mutants, or aliens, at least the ones they knew of was shocking enough. But to learn that Humanity was united under one global government was a real eye opener for them all, and all militaries operating under a unified organization left them stunned. Even more so was the idea that Humanity in that universe actually controlled 800 worlds, such a thing boggled the mind and already tongues were wagging like mad at the implications.

Marlene managed to shake herself out of her very own stupor and spoke.

"Were you born on Earth?"

"No, I can assure you that I am as human as the rest of the people here in this building, I was born on the world of Eridanus II in the Eridanus System, Elysium City. That's all I can say as under UNSCDF Security Articles I cannot speak further of myself, as all information is classified."

General Eiling then spoke next.

"Spartan, you called yourself a Spartan II Commando, what exactly does that mean?"

John knew that this was one subject he was not keen on talking about but decided only to give the OFFICIAL details that was given to those who were not part of it.

"The Spartan II Commando Program was created under authority of the UNSC HIGH COM and as such is supported and funded by the UNSC. This was conducted by ONI or the Office of Naval Intelligence to create super soldiers with advanced technology and weaponry. I cannot give any more details than that General. For while you are of higher rank than I am, you do not have the high level clearance to inquire, and though the UNSC I serve does not exist here, I am under oath not to reveal any and all classified information under the Security Articles established by the UNSC and ONI unless given orders to do so by a recognized high ranking member of the United Nations Space Command Defense Force or of ONI."

This apparently did not sit very well with some of the government officials and the military since they were very eager to find out the inner workings of this Spartan II Program that created the Spartan. However, one government official then took to the stand.

"Will you be willing to share any of your reality's technology with us then?"

John already had a reply to that as well as to any possible things that might crop up when he least expected it.

"I will be working with the League on what technology can be considered as safe and beneficial to the world and therefore allowed to be used. However, under no circumstances will I share any armor, and weapon schematics or associated military technologies to any nation."

That certainly caused an uproar but John was able to reply.

"There is a reason for it, while this is not my world or my universe for that matter, I already have seen that there are people, men and women who would seek to use any and all means to cause harm to their fellow human beings. We had that very same problem in mine, but ours was in an intergalactic scale, and it cost more lives than it does here in their universe. I am still honor and duty bound to defend Humanity from threats both inside and outside, by any means necessary, the League and it's members were kind enough to allow me to do my duties, until I return to my own universe, for my duty is still there."

It was here than another reporter spoke, and this one happened to be from a news group in New York who were not too keen on him or Diana.

"I am Morris Trent for the New York Informer, we all have seen that you use a very harsh and quite honestly brutal and lethal means to take down criminals. And while they are alive, you could have easily killed them if you had chosen to. Considering the members of the League who do not use lethal force, doesn't your presence in the group cause problems?"

John did not deny that there was truth in that but he also knew that none of the people here had seen his life or the battles he had been in, nor the enemies he had to face. The only ones who did were the League and this was something that he knew was indeed going to be a problem and it was here that two people he did not expect came to stand up for him on this very sensitive issue that could be a real bone of contention if left unresolved. The first being none other than Batman himself as the Dark Knight moved forward and spoke.

"May I speak on my colleague's behalf?"

The audience stopped and listened, John could tell that despite Bruce's calm, and stoic appearance, this was not something he did a lot, especially in his Batman persona so this was possibly a first for him. Cortana thought the same thing as she spoke.

"Oh this should be good."

"The Spartan is a soldier by profession in his reality and as is accepted by international law, a soldier is given government sanction to use any means to preserve life, and it includes lethal force, then he or she is allowed to do so. I personally will admit that I do not always approve of his use of guns and lethal intent, but he is doing what he is trained to do. The only difference is unlike in his own universe, he has ensured not to kill his foes in our own and is doing so not just because he has agreed to what we asked of him, but it was of his own volition to do so."

"Besides, in the process of confirming his story and his identity, what we have seen and learned about his history has shown to us that while he will not hesitate to take an enemy's life, he does it only when the situation is unavoidable and no other alternative exists. We all have decided that until that line is breached we will ensure that he will not resort to lethal force if other options can be found."

Bruce then stepped back and this was where the second person to defend him stepped forward. And it was Flash himself.

"I also would like to speak on behalf of my Spartan colleague."

The speedster then moved forward and spoke.

"To be honest with all of you here today…what I learned about the Spartan was very troubling as well. In fact, I swear that I had to empty my stomach a few times. The things he had to face in his reality was not pretty to say the least and was something that I am thankful for never being there to experience myself. But what we all in the League have seen is that he is doing his duty, not matter how dangerous it has to be. Hell, he took on missions that would have seemed impossible to accomplish and would mean certain death, but he won them all, and he inspired heroism and bravery in those he worked. All of that made him a legend in his reality and one of Humanity's greatest defenders and heroes."

"But he never lets that get to his head, he said to us when we saw the awards and citations he gained over his career that he felt that a soldier did not deserve to be honored for doing what is required of him. To him, his duty is more important than any medal and honor, he does not see himself as a superior being and cares more for the lives of others than his very own life and places the safety of his allies and civilians above all else. That's why he is in my opinion as much a hero as any of us in the League or the others in the world for that matter. His methods may be harsh to many, but he is doing what he is trained do and I know that if everything goes down the drain and all else fails, I'd be glad to have the Spartan watching my back."

John smirked a bit underneath his helmet at both Flash and Batman, he had expected Flash to stand up for him, but he certainly was not expecting Batman of all people. And he decided to speak as well.

"I have to thank the both of you Batman, Flash for the support, and I will keep my promise to avoid the need to cross the line unless there is no other alternative that is open to me. But I wish to make some things clear to those who might be watching and listening. Do not seek to test my resolve on this matter, because as Batman and Flash have said, I am more than capable of taking a life because I am trained to do it and I have done it so taking a life when I have to is something that I have no trouble doing."

"If you are a threat to innocent lives, my allies, and those I consider as friends and family…make no mistake I will use any and ALL means to take you down including lethal force."

That was that on his part and after more and more questions, the whole thing came to a close and that was something that he was very thankful for.

…

Two days after the official unveiling of the Justice League to the world…

John was walking in the shop, once more wondering just what he was doing here of all places, but he focused on the task at hand. Cortana had suggested to him that he go buy some clothes and supplies for Diana to further enhance her collection of clothing and supplies. The Amazon was currently back on the Watch Tower and training on the use of the Javelins so she would be able to be more effective in their operations.

It was needed for the members of the League to know how to properly use the Javelins, even those who could fly and it was now Diana's turn. This was the time Cortana decided to ask him to go shopping for the clothes. The clothes in question including some comfortable sleeping clothes for women, along with a variety of bras, panties, a few spare sets of clothes that were for everyday use, female products which naturally included hygiene products, make-up, lipstick, and more besides, and despite him wondering WHY Cortana suggested it in the first place…some simple but very well made and fetching swimwear of all things. All of that was possible since Cortana once more reminded him of Diana's exact body measurements and sizes so he would get all the appropriate clothing as well as the supplies.

To be perfectly honest, John doubted that Diana even needed makeup or lipstick, since at least to him, she looked fine to him and he doubted that she would even approve of using makeup in the first place. The hygiene products for women he could understand but the makeup was lost to him, and of course there was the beach wear. He had no idea on where the Amazon was going to use the swimwear in the state of New York, and naturally there was the question on whether she was going to even be all right with the idea of wearing swimwear. He had no doubt that if she did decide to wear it, and go to the beach, then the men in the area were never going to leave her alone. And despite her getting used to men to some degree, he had no doubt that any man with perverted tendencies were going to try their luck were going to end up regretting it, along with having to shelve out some major amounts of cash to pay for medical bills.

Still, Cortana pointed out slyly that all of this would at least make Diana's time among the world of men more complete. He could not fault the logic there, but he could not help but his long time friend had something in mind. What that was, he had no clue, but he knew better than to brood about it, just get it over and done with.

The sight of him in a white muscle shirt, black leather jacket, deep blue jeans and shoes looking for the products had given him looks from many people of the two genders as well as the different orientations. The straight men who managed to stop him in the said shop, could not help but look at him with surprise at his willingness to be ordered around to buy those things. The straight women in the store looked on with laughter and surprise as well as approval. They had to admit that a man who was willing to actually buy those things for a woman who he was no doubt involved with was a worthy man.

The others of the different orientations merely smiled and talked to themselves. This made the whole situation an annoyance to the Spartan but he pushed himself through it. He checked everything that he had and decided to get things over and done with. But as he was paying the clothes, he was soon aware that someone was behind him and the person spoke in what was a female voice but in a low tone.

"Nice to see you again…Spartan."

John's combat reflexes kicked in for a brief moment, but he quickly suppressed it. He knew that he was in a civilian store, so acting on his battle honed instincts and augmented reflexes was going to get him into trouble. Besides that…he had realized something.

The voice belonged to someone he knew.

He turned and spotted a dark skinned female beauty who was currently wearing a deep white long sleeved silk shirt, comfortable brown leather pants, boots, and a comfortable light brown vest as well. The woman looked at him with a smile and a gleam in her eye.

"Miss McCabe."

Mari smiled warmly at the Spartan, though she made sure to keep her actions neutral for the moment. She had come to New York after a fashion tour in France and unwind after that demanding trip. She had gone to this store to buy some supplies for her wardrobe when she spotted a face that she quickly recognized. She checked again to see if what or who she had seen was a figment of his imagination, but when she knew now that he was the real deal, she made her move.

"Hello there, fancy meeting you here."

John had a feeling that this was not going to be a good day, and he was right to some degree as the super model/heroine looked at the items he had bought and gave him a look that was both on amusement and admiration.

"I take it these are for your friend?"

"Yes they are for Diana, can we take this somewhere else?"

Vixen nodded and the two left the store and here the woman spoke.

"You know, I have to admit that I would never have expected you to be buying those things, most guys I know would not dream of even setting foot in a store like this unless egged on by their wives or girlfriends for various reasons. It's kind of amusing and admirable at the very same time since you don't get to see that kind of willingness in guys anymore."

John gave a slight snort and replied.

"I bet it would, but I did it since it can help."

Vixen laughed a bit at that and spoke.

"So where is Diana?"

"Currently training with the others at the tower, though I take it you watched the news?"

"Yep, nice entrance by the way, I'm not too comfortable with the whole idea of you…being willing to cross the line, but I guess we'll wait and see."

The two walked until Vixen spotted a nearby restaurant and looked at the Spartan with a gleam in her eye.

"Say, you don't have any appointments to attend do you?"

"No."

"Good, so you won't mind joining me for some lunch?"

John was silent about this, thinking about his options and already he could see that the people nearby were looking at him. No doubt trying to figure out who he was and why he was walking with a recognized fashion model like Mari of all people, he knew that this was going to be one of those days, that much was obvious to him, but he decided that he might as well get this done, besides, he already knew enough about Mari so no sense turning her down.

"All right then, just lunch all right?."

The two spent some time together in the restaurant and this had attracted a lot of attention from the people in the area for more than one reason. Mari was recognized for her beauty and physical form with her being a recognized model so she had acquired a fair number of rumors concerning her, namely one when she was going to settle on being with a significant other. And as much as John wished to be out of the camera lens, he was quick to see some people taking pictures with their cell-phones as well as their cameras.

This was annoying to him, but he was in his civilian disguise thus far and therefore no one with the exception of Mari knew that he was the Spartan. And besides, Mari seemed to be in a good mood around him and as such, he decided to loosen up a bit, though not too much.

As for Mari, she found the Spartan to be all right, sure she knew who he really was and she had seen him in action, but seeing him in a civilian situation was kind of fun. Not to mention that despite him not being too keen on being the center of attention at the moment, he did not seem to take offense to the situation that he was in. He was calm, observant and very patient, as well as highly professional.

As soon as they were done with lunch, the two left and spent a bit more time talking until the two parted company. Mari made sure to look for the Spartan's base on her own time and when she was not being followed by the media. He had an identity in New York and since she based herself in New York a number of times, this would really help.

As for John, he hoped that he was not going to end up slapped in the newspapers for being with Mari, but if there was one thing he learned from his now deceased friend Johnson; don't think that what the cameras took was going to be forgotten anytime soon. Because it was going to come back to you quicker than you think.

…

In the Watch Tower a few days later…

The League were currently taking care of some serious matters with Flash handling yet another series of attacks on Central City and Hawkgirl handling another crisis on the other side of the world. This left the other members working on keeping things in the Watch Tower under wraps for now. The Dawn was on routine patrol over the Earth and was on the other side of the planet at this very moment.

The Master Chief was still in his standard MJOLNIR Power Armor and currently working on some of the new plans that he was going to give to the others in the League to read. These plans included the development of Hydrogen fueled Reactors to replace those that used fossil fuels and he also was working on presenting the design of the same engine that used all manner of water as fuel for vehicles.

Batman had to admit that such technology was indeed impressive as this would ensure that fossil fuel usage would decrease and help alleviate the growing environmental issues that came up. He also admitted that such designs could even open new avenues of technology development for all sectors and not just those of the transportation industry.

And it was here that Cortana teleported a new MJOLNIR variant for John to use while in the Tower.

John looked at the brand new MJOLNIR variant and recognized it as one of the recently tested models they worked on in their free time.

"We're using the 'Mako' variant?"

Cortana nodded and replied.

"Yep, this variant should be more than adequate for naval work, even more so since we've managed to condition a few new features."

The Spartan looked at the MJOLNIR variant nicknamed Mako for the shark and had to admit that the improved product was worth the effort to make. The fact that it was ideal for naval work also added to that. On the outside it looked like a more streamline version of the MJOLNIR, and in truth it would be, but the suit was different in a number of ways. The edges were smoothed over to help cut resistance to water, it had a special recycler system that converted expelled carbon dioxide back into oxygen which was able to operate for an indefinite period of time thanks to the power systems that were in the MJOLNIR variant, it also had a specially made Motion Sensor system that was melded with a highly advanced version of sonar to give the Spartan the edge he would need in a full water environment. And the previous Hydrostatic Gel Layer was improved sealing to handle the increasing pressure when in an underwater environment in various depths as well as keeping John warm in colder temperatures as well as sealing him further. The Gel was also made a bit stronger and able to counter the danger of shockwaves from explosions in water that could have a deadly effect on the Spartan due to pressure waves.

But the most unique additions were a special propulsion system and also a special layering of microscopic scales that were made like shark's teeth on the armor's surface to boot. The propulsion system was developed by Cortana that used the Jump-jet pack developed by the UNSC but instead the new version took in sea water and actually released it at extreme pressure which in turn created motion. This system also gave John the ability to move silently without making much noise and with some more modifications that Cortana placed in, the system was called down to a much smaller size and was not a problem for John to use. This was also installed not just in the back with several nacelles in the top, sides and bottom, but also on the hips, feet and elbows. This gave John a much higher range of movement in water.

The second was the scale system that mirrored sharkskin and through some ingenious tampering by the Smart A.I, the sharkskin like scales were made many times more hydrodynamic, allowing for seamless movement in the water. This in conjunction with the propulsion system gave John a deadly advantage in under water battles and would be key in fighting possible threats against him that might either want to blast the Spartan into a million pieces, or try to make a meal out of him.

John smiled a bit and replied.

"I guess this will have to do on the off chance we do have to go underwater."

"Good, make sure to bring me some data John so we can tweak it a bit more, but you might want to consider changing weapons."

"Why?"

"Our basic UNSC weapons might work underwater, but I highly doubt that they were meant to work in very deep places, Laser Weapons and Plasma Weapons are out as well, and while we can improve the Gauss rounds for naval work, I think we're better off using something that we can be sure works."

"That something that can work being?"

"The line of Sonic weapons, just like pressure waves, sound can travel better in water than they do in solids so these would be a far better choice in battle. They can be set to stun if need be or go all lethal if there is no other option. You can wager a guess what the results will be to the target if they get hit by this as well."

Cortana however stopped and spoke to the Spartan who knew that if she did that, then something was up.

"What is it Cortana?"

"There's an incoming message from a USS Defiant, a nuclear submarine. I'm patching it through the system now."

The League members gathered to listen in as Cortana played the message.

"This is the USS Defiant! We are under attack and have sustained heavy damage! We are going down! I repeat we are going down!"

John looked at the Mako and spoke.

"Looks like this is going into service right now."

…

Over the surface of the ocean, one of the Javelins arrived with Green Lantern at the command stick while Superman, Diana, and the Master Chief were there and ready to do. The Spartan was already wearing the Mako armor and carried a Sonic MA5C Assault Rifle and also a specially made Sonic Heavy Cannon that was able to work on enemy armor by literally creating a beam of solid sonic energy that could vibrate substances apart at the molecular level, and John had them all on the barrier between lethal and non lethal.

As the Javelin was moving the last known spot of the Defiant, Stewart spoke to their communications system to get into contact with the sub's crew.

"USS Defiant, this is the Justice League, help is on the way."

The Javelin was soon deep under water and its ability to move into the sea easily as if it was in the sky and space came in handy as the League began to look around for answers to what had just happened.

"What could have attacked the Defiant? There are no other subs in this area of the ocean that are on patrol according to the information in the US Navy's database."

John asked as they looked about as Diana used her training to look at their scanners and they soon located the Defiant.

"There they are, the signal coming from the distress beacon of the Defiant is getting stronger so we must be closing in."

Superman however pointed towards something in the ocean floor and spoke to them seriously.

"We're not the only ones down here…look."

They spotted the ships and they were massive vessels, and for a brief moment, John felt like he was looking at another Covenant vessel. They always outclassed the UNSC Navy's ships no matter the classification though this was something that definitely was not made by the Covenant due to the shape and color difference.

"They must have been the ones who sank the Defiant."

The League had no time to waste as they were soon being attacked by the vessels as weapon banks came online and began to fire at them. Stewart kicked in his own training as he maneuvered the Javelin away from incoming fire and focused on avoiding any explosive waves that could harm the ship. The vessels may be larger and better armed as well as armored, but they did not have the speed and maneuverability of the Javelin as the Marine evaded the vessel.

It pursued them as John quickly drew the ship deeper and moved through some massive underwater arches. The massive vessel hit them and was soon stuck in the bottom by the massive stones it had loosened.

Stewart then replied as he looked behind them.

"That takes care of that."

Cortana appeared on John's side and replied.

"You might want to rethink that Marine, because here comes more of them."

The Smart A.I was not joking as two more of the massive vessels appeared before the Javelin and John was once more on the maneuvering mode as weapons fire came at them. The Master Chief however got up and powered his weapons and spoke as he turned around to leave the Javelin.

"We need to get to the men quickly."

Superman moved and got a breathing mask specially made by Batman for this kind of situation and spoke.

"Those sailors won't make it out if we spend time dodging these guys all day."

The others nodded as they unstrapped themselves and headed out, just as the weapons from the two ships hit the Javelin. The armor held thanks to the upgrades given by the Spartan and Cortana. The League came out with Green Lantern carrying Superman and Diana while John, armed with the Heavy Sonic Cannon was moving alongside the Green Lantern as he deactivated the shield made by his ring and allowed the two other heroes the chance to fight.

The four heroes managed to avoid several more shots from the vessels as Diana blocked a few shots from one of the weapon banks of the vessel. Superman quickly made short work of that emplacement by ripping it out from the vessel.

John on the other hand quickly moved to the front as another weapon system came online and tried to target him, he evaded them thanks to the Mako's speed and quickly fired his Sonic Cannon. The beam of sonic energy smashed hard into the sub and tore through it, leaving a massive gash that looked more like a surgical cut as the sonic energy broke the materials by shaking their molecules to bits.

The others in the League were not far behind as both Superman and Wonder Woman turned to hit both subs hard. They pushed the subs into one another quickly and the results were explosive as the subs lost most of their integrity. The crews in them were also sent into the sea as both the Spartan and Green Lantern used their respective weapons to disable to subs even more, John aimed the Sonic Cannon right at the nose of one of the subs and sent the beam out the back end, causing massive damage while Stewart used his ring's energy to cut the second ship in half.

This took out the ships as the League moved out but they were stopped when more Atlanteans showed up. John took out his Sonic Assault Rifle and readied himself as one of the people came forward. This one was dressed differently from the others and carried a more regal and authoritative bearing, similar to a Prophet in the Spartan's mind, but this one was not frail looking either. This man looked more than able to hold his own in a fight and carried a trident of all things while he and his fellows rode bikes that moved under water.

Cortana then spoke to John.

"Easy there John, judging from the guy's armor and the way he looks, I'd say he must be their leader. And don't look now but I think we're surrounded."

Cortana was right as he saw from his Sonar that there more contacts coming in as the man then spoke in a tone of authority.

"Halt! You are violating the sovereign borders of the Kingdom of Atlantis! Surrender now or be destroyed."

Superman recognized the man quickly enough as Aquaman and it seemed that he did the same as he spoke a bit.

"So we meet again Superman."

"Aquaman, we apologize for this action but we came here to answer a distress call from the Defiant."

Aquaman turned to look at the vessel in question and spoke with disgust in his voice at the surface ship.

"They should have stayed in the surface where they belonged."

John then replied with a tone that was not the least bit intimidated.

"Did they open fire on your ships?"

"What?"

"It's a simple rule of US military codebook, do not fire unless fired upon. Did they fire on your subs?"

"No they did not, why does that matter?"

"If they did not fire at you for any reason, then they had no hostile intent and you attacked first, as soon as word gets out of this incident, your people are marked as hostiles. But we came here to save those people, if they die, then their deaths are on your people's hands."

Diana then spoke.

"Please, these people will drown."

Aquaman weighed his options at this and decided that allowing the surface dwellers in that ship to be saved should show that his people were doing what was their right, and that was to defend their homes, but they would not kill unless forced into it.

"Fine, rescue the people there and tell your people to never enter our borders, but that sub stays here."

That did not sit well with Lantern as he spoke out.

"No chance in hell are we doing that! That's a nuclear armed submarine, and if you think that we're just going to let you…"

"What makes you think you are in a position to act, or have a choice?"

Stewart glared and soon his power flared up but Superman stopped him and replied.

"He's right, those sailors are the ones we have to save, time is against us."

It did not take too long for the League to get the sailors, The Javelin was still operational and was now being piloted by both Diana and John to serve as an escort for Green Lantern through the storm while he carried the sailors in a protective sphere now that they were clear. All the while the Atlanteans and their king watched it all happen and had escorted them to the surface. As soon as it was over, Superman turned and spoke to Aquaman.

"All of this could be avoided in the future if you wanted."

Aquaman remained impassive at first and then asked.

"How?"

"Go to the World Assembly and air your grievances to the leaders there."

"You expect me to go there like a beggar?"

"No, go there as a king."

As soon as the League Left, Aquaman was left to think his options as he gave the others for the rest of his followers to gather their own survivors as well as salvage anything they could from their own vessels before ordering the submarine secured by guards while he and those that were not on duty headed back to Atlantis.

…

Inside Atlantis…

Aquaman was in council with his advisors, namely Brak, and his brother Orm even though they were only half siblings in the main palace. Orm had been a good advisor and served to cool the heads of the more vocal and aggressive members of the Atlantean military, Brak being one of them and for that Aquaman was thankful. And already as he listened to Brak, he could tell that his General was in a full desire to accomplish what he wanted.

"This situation cannot continued my King, I say that the surface dwellers are barbarians. They have invaded our sovereign borders, experimented their weapons recklessly in the seas, pollute our waters with their garbage, kill and take the sealife without any restraint, and they sail their weapons around with impunity! It is high time that we put a stop to this before they will become too much for our people to bear! And we in the military have a solution."

Aquaman knew that Brak's arguments had merit as he himself had been on the receiving end of mankind's greed and selfishness. Long ago, two years after that whole incident with that alien lord named Darkseid, he had been kidnapped and experimented on by a man named Lex Luthor, and while he had wanted to avenge his people, Superman stopped him with the aid of his human friend, and possibly love interest, Lois Lane. It was through these two that he learned that not all surface dwellers were bad, and his recent encounters with them was proof of that despite his dislike for the one using green energy, and his curiosity for the armored one who's face he could not see. He decided to hear out just what Brak had in mind, though he had a vague idea as to what he had in mind.

"And what sort of solution is that?"

Brak nodded and spoke.

"Our technology is at it's peak and our men are more than ready for the chance to teach the surface dwellers a lesson. Give us the authority and we can go there and wipeout the surface dwellers for good so they can no longer threaten us!"

Despite his own distrust for surface dwellers, Aquaman was not in favor of a war unless there was no alternative. He knew that a foolhardy war was not in the best interests of their people and would be costly for all of them.

"General Brak, I decide policy in Atlantis and not you."

Brak then did something that that got on the blonde Atlantean's nerves as he actually moved forward and showed a more aggressive and demanding posture and tone. These were not good things to show before one's own leader.

"But we cannot delay any more my king! We should end this all now before…"

Orm then stepped forward and spoke.

"Enough General Brak! You're tone is disrespectful as your king has spoken."

Brak stopped and moved away as he replied with a bow.

"Forgive my overreaction Lord Orm."

Aquaman thought over everything and looked at his wife Mera and their son. Mera was a beautiful woman and wore the robes and crown of Atlantean royalty and had her deep red hair in the way she wanted as she held their son. She was worried and no doubt deep in thought as to what was going on. He knew that she loved to live in a peaceful kingdom and raise their son in a safe environment. He desired the same thing as well and he was not going to commit to a war unless it was the last option left.

He turned and spoke to both Brak and Orm as he stood up from the throne.

"General Brak, I will consider your counsel on the matter with the surface dwellers, this is not a decision that is to be taken lightly. I will take time to consider our options and I will give my orders when I come to a decision."

With that he left and was followed by Mera, with Brak and Orm looking at the couple.

…

In the royal chambers

Aquaman smiled warmly at his active baby son who smiled warmly back at his sire and played with his hair as well. The king lowered his stern and calm demeanor and became the loving father and caring husband that he was as he was with his wife and son. As he placed their son down on his bed, he commented at the display of strength his son had.

"He has a strong grip."

Mera smiled at that and replied.

"He takes after his father."

Aquaman smiled but his thoughts became intense once more as he turned away and looked out into the city, Mera was quick to see that her husband was troubled and spoke to him once she was close, using his true name.

"Something bothers you greatly Arthur, what is it?"

"Am I doing the right thing Mera, am I steering our people and our kingdom in the right direction. The surface dwellers have committed many evil things, that much I know is true, but there are those who I can respect, and going to war with them. I may have been willing to go to war once, but being with you and our son…I do not feel that a war is something our people and the both of you need, all I want is a safe and bright future for our son. Am I strong enough to do this?"

"You're hands are strong enough Arthur, I will gladly place my life and my future in them…and I can say the same for our son and our people."

Aquaman smiled at his wife and then looked at his son. He thought over what he truly wanted, a safe world for his people and his wife and child. But he needed to find a peaceful way to safeguard that future, one that did not drag his people into a war that they did not need. That left him with few choices, and with one that he privately hoped would work.

…

As the League were now back in the Watch Tower after depositing the rescued sailors in the nearest naval base, John could not ignore the feeling that Aquaman was going to be a concern. Superman told them about his suggestion to Aquaman to go to the World Assembly, but after what he had seen of the men, he doubted that the man was not going to be the least bit diplomatic. For such an advanced race as the Atlanteans, they seemed to be rather archaic in their approach to things, but he kept in mind that he was not the judge of the man and he had to be objective. Still his military mind was telling him that leaving behind the nuclear payload and the missiles that made up the sub's full surface weapon systems was a bad idea.

And he had no doubt that he was not the only one who was thinking along those very same lines as Superman was currently getting into contact with the US Navy's officer in charge.

Cortana was sending him her very own input as well.

"I do not like the idea of leaving those weapons behind, we might have gotten the crew out, but I still worry about those nukes."

"I know Cortana, but the people come first, we'll worry about the nukes once we have a chance to make sure that they are in safe hands. Besides, I have a feeling that Aquaman is going to keep his word on leaving that submarine alone."

The A.I replied in a slightly tired tone.

"I know, I detected no signs of lying there, but that hardly means that we should be complacent about it, I can bet that the brass in the US are going ape at the idea of leaving nuclear weapons in the bottom of the ocean in the hands of people they know next to nothing about."

The Master Chief knew that Cortana had a very solid case there, and already he and the others could hear the way Superman was talking with the Admiral on the line.

"I understand your point very well Admiral, and I wish I didn't have to leave those nukes as well, but lives were at stake and we didn't have enough time to save both the nukes and the people."

Green Lantern was tense as hell and the Spartan could easily understand the former Marine's agitation on the matter that he was currently dealing with. And it was not long before Stewart finally spoke just how much he disliked the whole situation involving the nukes that were in the hands of the Atlanteans.

"The Admiral's got a point, we should have never left those nukes down there, we should have gone back there and took them to be sure. Now they are in the hands of that madman who refuses to see reason!"

Diana, being a princess understood Aquaman's position as leader of his people, though she also understood just why her fellow League member was very unhappy with the situation. She had read just how devastating nuclear weapons were and what she had learned from the Master Chief and Cortana about them. She only hoped that there was a chance to bring down the tension and get everyone involved to think with calmer heads.

"Aquaman is not a maniac Stewart, he is a king, and as such is the sovereign leader of his people, he is doing his best to try and protect his people and their way of life."

"Oh yeah, then who is going to protect us from him?"

As Green Lantern turned away, Diana sighed as she began to try and talk some sense into the Green Lantern, but the Spartan stopped her and John then spoke.

"You're best off not trying to convince Stewart Princess Diana, both him and Aquaman have good reasons to be the way they are. John's dedicated to protecting those under his charge and so is Aquaman as King. The best we can hope for is there is a viable solution that does not lead to a shooting match. This world does not need to be at war with people who live in it, since despite being sea dwelling, the Atlanteans are still residents of Earth whether they admit to it or not"

Diana nodded solemnly at that and replied.

"I truly hope for that Spartan."

…

Green Lantern managed to get back into the sea and saw that a very large number of Atlantean ships and water bikes were in the area. At the moment it looked like the blonde haired Atlantean King was keeping his promise. But John had his doubts on the whole matter and with some quick maneuvering and thinking, he was able to evade the patrols and enter the sub. What he saw next in the sub's missile bay made him all the more angry/

The nuclear missiles were all stolen from their racks…

And the same could be said for the nuclear fuel that made the core of the missiles' warheads.

…

The beach…

Things seemed very calm at the moment for all the beach goers at this fine morning, but that was all going to change. And it was not just for them but for the people at the World Assembly as Aquaman came out and made his way deeper into the city. He cared little for what the people around him were doing, and he also ignored them as he moved to locate this World Assembly that Superman spoke of the last time he had spoke to the man.

Some people in cars were not happy with him crossing the street and ignoring the fact that they were passing by. One shouted at him but quickly regretted it as the Atlantean smashed his car's hood and lifted it upward for a bit and he moved on. Just as a police officer tried to stop him, Aquaman turned and grabbed the man and lifted him easily like a rag doll and spoke at him.

"Where is the World Assembly?"

…

In the Tower…

"I knew we should never have left that sub in the hands of that fish man! The sub's been stripped clean of the missiles and the plutonium is gone from the secure locker!"

Diana looked at the irate Green Lantern as she, the Spartan, J'onn and Cortana were there when Stewart came back from what Cortana guessed was investigation of his own. The princess was not very pleased with the news herself, but she did question why was it that Aquaman would do such a thing with something that he should know already was inherently dangerous.

"And you think Aquaman is responsible?"

The Lantern rolled his eyes a bit and replied sternly.

"You know any other Atlanteans that we missed Princess? We need to go to Atlantis right now and get some straight answers!"

The Spartan replied to that calmly while in his MJOLNIR Armor, leaving the Mako in for some fine tweaking.

"I doubt that it's going to be that clear cut Gunny, I doubt that we're going to just move into Atlantis without incident. Besides, Aquaman is a leader of his people and like Diana said he is protecting his own people, just we do with the people here. If he did, he would have a good reason for it."

"So what do you suggest we do Chief? We still have to get some answers from that guy since there's no telling what exactly he plans to do with the plutonium."

Superman then replied.

"If we need answers, we don't need to go to Atlantis, looks like Aquaman heeded my suggestion, but we had best hurry, judging from the way he did his entrance, I doubt he's being diplomatic about it."

…

Superman was right as they saw the news that Aquaman had gone to the World Assembly to air his grievances to the World Assembly and it's leaders. But Superman had a point about his worries of Aquaman's way of handling things since the situation the hall was far from calm. It was clear that despite being a king, Aquaman was not very open minded when it came to finding a viable solution that would work for not just his people but the world. The terms he placed in his peace treaty sounded more like a list of demands for unconditional surrender, which was even more reinforced by the fact that he barged past the guards and entered the Assembly Hall just like that during a closed session.

Many of the people in the World Assembly made their own disgust with the demands leveled to them by Aquaman very clear as one man, who no doubt represented the French Government spoke.

"You and your people have the audacity to sink a nuclear sub and then barge in here to make demands for peace like this? Who do you think you are?"

Aquaman replied in the same serious and calm tone as before.

"I am the sworn in and sovereign ruler of the kingdom of Atlantis."

"A country that is not recognized and as such has no right to make demands!"

Aquaman glared at each member of the Assembly, making sure to focus first on the French representative as he replied.

"These are the final terms of peace between your nations and mine; discard and ignore them at your own risk."

The speaker then replied as he tried desperately to keep things in the hall in order, the last thing he wanted was a riot in the hall itself.

"But those demands of yours are outrageous and impractical! What you are proposing seriously undermines not only the security and defense of our respective nations, but out economic security as well!"

Aquaman looked at the man and replied.

"Those are your concerns and problems, they are not mine."

That did it as the whole Assembly rioted and the leaders and officials were all standing up and were hurling threats and insults at Aquaman. And while he remained calm, he could not help but feel some level of disappointment. He had arrived to air his grievances and set his terms as Superman suggested, and now it seemed that he had wasted his time.

"Aquaman!"

The leaders turned and so did the Atlantean as Superman came along with John Stewart, the Master Chief who carried his trademark Assault Rifle and a Battle Rifle, and Diana herself. As Superman landed in front of Aquaman, the Atlantean king spoke bitterly to the Kryptonian.

"I came here and offered them a chance for peace between their nations and mine, and this is how they respond. This was a waste of my time."

Superman replied to that, hoping to try and salvage this situation before it turned ugly.

"Please try to be patient about this, things like this takes time."

"I have wasted too much time already."

Cortana then replied to that as she disliked the attitude of the Atlantean king very much, maybe even more so than John himself.

"This guy REALLY needs to get that harpoon out of his ears."

"Wait!"

Wonder Woman stepped before Aquaman to try and make him stop and think this situation through a lot more before leaving, but the man merely looked at the Amazon and quickly moved her aside and into Stewart's hands. The Lantern caught Diana as the Amazon had not expected that reaction from the Atlantean.

John shook his head at the way the Atlantean King moved Diana aside and he could not help but comment on the actions he had seen the man take and his overall attitude.

"That guy's as diplomatic as a Sword wielding Zealot."

Stewart nodded as well as he and Diana looked at the man who was now leaving the building.

"A real Prince Charming too."

…

Unfortunately for Aquaman, his exit from the World Assembly was not going to be as quick as he hoped. He had hoped to get back to his people and give them the news of the flat out rejection of his proposal to the surface dwellers. He ignored the reporters and headed off, but only to be suddenly cast aside by a powerful explosion as the sound of a rocket came out of nowhere and sent him to the ground.

The League came out and Superman was quick to move and get Aquaman for treatment while being followed by the others who were quick to form a screen around the Man of Steel and the injured king of Atlantis. The Spartan on the other hand looked around while cradling his basic MA5C Assault Rifle, scanning for any possible sign of the attacker before he followed the others to oversee Aquaman's treatment. This was enough to tell him that something was going on in the scenes and already both he and Cortana were running through the scenarios.

…

In Atlantis, the Generals in the observation room could not help but be utterly shocked at the sight of their king being taken away for medical treatment by the surface dwellers, namely by the League. They had heard that their king's condition was unknown, but apparently critical and already there were questions flying about on what their response should be should the injuries on Aquaman be proven fatal.

It was here that Orm made his move as he spoke to the assembled generals of the kingdom.

"This affront must not go unpunished! If the surfacers think that we will sit idly by at the news of this cowardly attack on our king, we will make them regret it! I want all forces to be on full alert, mobilize all forces, I am taking charge of the kingdom until the situation is dealt with."

While there were those who began to support Aquaman's brother, not all of the officers in the room were too keen on the news.

"But Lord Orm, the king left specific instructions for the forces of the kingdom to remain on standby only. Besides, we have not yet received word on how our king is doing."

"Do you really think that the surface dwellers would really care for our king? They very well could be using him for their own gains, like they had done years before and he could very well be dead. No, we will mobilize and I will rule until this crisis is dealt with."

"But my Lord, the laws of succession states that…"

Orm then replied to that as well in his own voice of authority.

"The heir to our throne is still a child and not yet at the right age to rule our kingdom General, until he is of age, I will rule in my nephew's place until this matter is resolved. Now get things done quickly the longer we delay, the more likely the surface dwellers will rally and become an even greater threat to our world! My brother wanted to defend out world from them, and we cannot abandon that design now."

He turned and thought over some more details and looked to see Mera walk to him in a hurried pace, her beautiful face obviously distressed about the rumor that her husband and their king had been badly injured and possibly more besides.

"Orm! I heard the news! Has there been any word on Arthur?"

Orm moved and took Mera into his arms and spoke to her

"I am sorry Mera, but we have no trustworthy news yet for you, all of Atlantis is in mourning with you as well."

Mera moved away and spoke to him.

"You speak as if he is already dead."

"I wish that were not the case…but we cannot trust what the surface dwellers say, for all we know, they could be lying about Arthur and are doing who knows what to him."

"No…"

Mera walked away and held her arms tightly, wishing that it was her husband's arms and not her own that were holding her right now. She wanted to feel him and be assured that he was all right, but that was not happening as she spoke as tears threatened to come down her face as she moved away hoping that her beloved was all right and would soon return to her and their son.

…

In the hospital room…

The League members were all in the room with Aquaman, but he was not in a stretcher or hospital bed, he was currently in an ocean water tank that was being placed in a setting that seemed to be ideally suited for fish life in the ocean. Batman had arrived earlier and had ordered the people in the hospital to stop doing what they were doing to Aquaman to heal his injuries as they were getting nowhere fast. His skin was too tough to pierce with injection needles and scalpels and they had nothing that could him until he showed up.

Already the League could see the injuries that were on Atlantean healing and his vital signs were all good as Superman spoke.

"Looks like Aquaman is recovering well, he should be fully recovered and able to speak in a few moments."

That was the opening that Green Lantern was waiting for.

"Good, now we can get some proper answers."

The Spartan did not like that but decided to observe the whole situation as Green Lantern banged his hand on the glass of the tank and spoke seriously to the now obviously recovering Atlantean. He had managed to get the footage of the attack from Cortana and had been studying it intently just as Cortana was doing as well.

"Wake up in there your highness, what the hell did you and your people do with the nuclear material?"

Aquaman soon opened his eyes and spoke.

"The nuclear material?"

"Yeah, the material that was on the sub's storage room, which I found was empty and gone! Where the heck did you hide it?"

Aquaman got out of the tank and removed the sensors on his chest and replied in the same calm and collected fashion to the irate Green Lantern who was looking at him intently, unaware that the Spartan was doing the very same thing.

"I have not taken that material you speak of, I gave my men strict orders to leave that sub where it was."

"Really? Listen here, nuclear materials do not sprout legs and arms, open their storage container and walk out like everything's all peachy. I went into the sub and found not just the fuel gone, but the missiles as well, so where are they?"

"I do not know and I do not care, all I know is that someone tried to kill me and I will find out who he is and what he knows."

John then replied as Aquaman continued to move away, he did not like the Atlantean king's attitude one bit and made that clear while remaining objective at the very same time as he spoke.

"You're not thinking this through like a proper king."

That was enough to make Aquaman stop pacing and glare at him and reply to what he had said.

"And what makes you say that?"

"Think it through, your would be killer targeted you the very second you left the World Assembly, and he nearly succeeded with the use of a rocket launcher, not a high powered sniper rifle. That whole attack on you was well thought out and therefore had nothing to do with dumb luck nor was it coincidence. And that assassin chose to use high powered weapons since conventional assassin weapons would not be that effective. That means that whoever hired him knew you were going to the Assembly and made sure to tell him how to kill you. What does that tell you Aquaman?"

"I fail to see the point in that."

"You're assassin is no fool, he will try again to kill you since he will have a reputation to protect and there is still the question on who hired him. You do not hire simple thugs to take out someone with superhuman abilities after all. Whoever hired him made sure to hire the best and the most important detail is that they knew where you were going. I doubt it would have been anyone here in the surface world as you call it who knew you were coming, since I have a feeling that your people don't exactly make a habit to suddenly walk from the ocean depths to mingle with the regular people. The only people, who would know apart from us in the League, would be your own people."

Aquaman's eyes widened at the insinuation and made the clear as he was before the Spartan.

"Are you suggesting that I have a traitor in my own kingdom?"

"That's a big possibility. And if that is confirmed to be true, then I doubt the person would be alone, he or she would have allies and resources, resources that would be more than enough to hire the one who tried to kill you and possibly take over the throne since the only time a king is killed by traitors is when they desire to rule in the deceased person's place after rooting out and eliminating the competition."

"I do not believe that, all of my people are loyal to their king and they already the price of treason."

"Whether it was a traitor or a large number of traitors in your kingdom or indeed a surface world party as it were that hired this assassin, we cannot gain any information until that assassin is lured out in the open and in our hands. Its common sense after all, you find out who sent the assassin, you'll then find out just who your real enemy or enemies are."

Batman nodded at that logic.

"He has a point, until we capture that assassin; we have no idea who would want you dead. You will have to trust us and let us find the killer before he will try and go after you again."

"So what do you propose I do?"

"Stay here and let us root him out."

"You expect me to hide like some whipped coward while that killer is loose?"

"It's the only way to bring him in closer, no doubt he will finish his mission until you are truly dead, so we'll use that."

"How?"

…

The League quickly moved about as the news crews around the hospital began to report that they were going to move Aquaman to a more dedicated marine medical care and observation station. This was all a trap of course, as they were moving out quickly to wait for the assassin to make his move. The only one of the team who was not with them, was Green Lantern as he was watching over Aquaman as they had moved him quietly to another room to avoid word coming out that the Atlantean was alive and well.

All they allowed to come out apart from moving him was that Aquaman was still alive and was struggling to recover,. They quickly got into position and waited for the right moment to occur as Aquaman came out from the hospital in a gurney. They will not have to wait long as the assassin came out from a nearby sewer and quickly moved to attack, this time carrying a much larger rocket launcher.

He got into position and aimed his weapon, intent on finishing his mission and not care about who got caught in the hit.

Unfortunately for him that was when Diana spotted him and told the others.

"There he is!"

Batman nodded as he looked with his binoculars.

"We see him!"

Before they could respond, the Spartan took out his Battle Rifle and fired a three round burst, just as the rocket came out from the launcher/ The assassin had no time to react as the missile was sent down and away from the intended target and exploded. That had caught the people nearby off guard and that was when the League was on the move. The assassin however had to push even more as John was shooting at him with shots from the Battle Rifle while the others followed in an effort to slow him down but not inflict fatal injury as he was needed alive for questioning.

The Master Chief then quickly moved down and landed on the ground with a thunderous impact as he spoke to Cortana coordinating him via the Dawn.

"Cortana, can you track his movements?"

"I am on it, but I have no doubt this guy's got some major tricks up his sleeve."

…

Sure enough, the man did, as he entered the sewer and sealed the cover, Superman arrived and tried to follow him. He reached to remove the cover, but got hit by an unexpected amount of high voltage, Superman screamed at the unexpected surprise and was sent back smoking and unconscious. The man moved down and revealed that he had rigged a trap just in case he was being followed.

As soon as he got down, he removed his clothes and was in his suit, revealing himself to be none other than Deadshot. The man had managed to escape prison and return to his life as an assassin for hire, but sporting some very nasty scars from his encounter with the Spartan underneath his suit.

Batman and J'onn arrived after the disguised Martian helped the people and removed his disguise as Aquaman. Batman checked on Superman while J'onn went down to the sewers by being intangible. Deadshot moved past him as he quickly contacted Diana.

"Diana, he is heading in your direction!"

Diana nodded as she quickly moved off the building she was on and quickly struck the street sending out a shockwave that caused the road to cave down, forcing the assassin to the direction she wanted. She wasted no time and ripped out the grid and moved down to the sewer, joined by John as they were before the assassin.

The man turned his right to stop as Diana spoke, though the man's use of low level light only revealed her outline as Diana spoke.

"End of the line!"

The man replied calmly at that.

"Sorry, I'll take a detour."

Wonder Woman had no choice but to shield herself when the man fired a grenade into the roof and buried her in rubble as he sped away. Diana moved the rubble away and tried to look for the man but it was clear that he got away from them. She however kept her cool and reported to the others.

"He managed to get away from me but he's moving to the other tunnel to the right."

…

Lantern looked at Aquaman carefully as he waited to get word from the others that the assassin was taken down and secured. However, that chance never came as Aquaman turned around and quickly slugged the Green Lantern in the face to knock him unconscious.

Aquaman looked at John Stewart as the former Marine was on the ground still alive and replied.

"You presume too much."

And with that, he left; time to him was too short in supply for him to wait.

…

Batman was not far behind as he quickly used his grappling gun to move out of the way as he placed traps on the path Deadshot was taking. The traps sent the motorcycle he was on crashing into the ground and Batman spoke to him, recognizing the man as someone he had dealt with before in Gotham. Deadshot was the best marksman he knew of so whoever hired him knew who to hire.

"Don't move!"

Deadshot however ignored that as he tossed some smoke grenades at Batman and escaped, using the scanners in his targeting system to move through the tunnels. Once he was clear and a fair distance from Batman, he climbed upwards to the sewer cover…right above his van.

As soon as he arrived and got into the van he went for the driver's seat, but not before checking his van's stock of ordnance from guns, sniper rifles, swords, daggers, explosives and the like. Seeing none missing he wasted no time in gunning the engine and make his escape. But as he did so, he was spotted by Superman and was soon being chased by the Man of Steel.

He focused so much on evading Superman that he failed to take into account that Superman was not the only League member tracking him. John was there and waited patiently with his Battle Rifle at the ready and as soon as Superman burned the rear tire on the right side, he fired three bursts into the van's engine block.

This stopped the vehicle and sent it crashing hard though Deadshot was alive but not able to go anywhere as Superman came and extracted him from the vehicle. The mercenary was more than willing to talk now as he knew that escape was impossible.

"Okay, okay, I give up."

Superman wasted little time as he knew that they had to hurry since he knew that the longer this went on, the higher the chance Aquaman would pack up and leave and make the situation worse.

"You were trying to kill Aquaman, why?"

Deadshot decided to take the more sarcastic route in this matter as the others arrived though John was a bit late.

"Oh, that's a good question there. Why would a hired gun try to kill someone? Simple, I was paid to do it."

Superman was quick to get the sarcasm, but ignored it for now as they were joined by J'onn, Diana, Batman, and the Spartan. Diana was the next one to ask, though her question was more focused on finding out who had paid Deadshot.

"Who paid you to kill Aquaman then?"

Deadshot looked at Diana and could help but mentally whistle at the very attractive Amazon princess as he recognized her voice as the one who tried to stop him before. She was drop dead gorgeous and must be one hell of a woman in more ways than one. That train of thought was enough to encourage Deadshot to try his luck as he decided to make a few comments.

"Now come on babe, you know I won't tell you…although, if you make it worth my while."

Diana frowned darkly at the implication in the man's voice, after all she had heard that before from many men who had less than noble intentions towards her. However, she knew that unless they got the information from the man, then she could not make him retract that particular statement.

Unfortunately for Deadshot, his choice of words did not sit well with the Master Chief who appeared next to him after dealing with the fire in the man's truck to prevent the ordnance from going off. He had no idea why but the way Deadshot addressed Diana seemed to make him feel like he wanted to rip out the man's tongue with his bare hands.

He kept himself objective however as he needed to get the information and took Deadshot by the throat, and while the mercenary was wearing his hood, he could tell that the man did recognize him.

"Oh hell…it's you!"

"Good guess Deadshot, since you seem to be very uncooperative, I guess I should try my hand at it."

The mercenary tried to play it cool though he vividly recalled his last encounter with the Spartan, it had resulted in him suffering extreme blood loss and had the Spartan been serious, he would have been crippled and maimed for life.

"You think I am going to crack Spartan? I am not going to tell you anything."

John replied in his coldest and most sinister tone, something that he was somehow quite capable of doing.

"You will, because from where I stand, you have two options at this point. The first is that you tell us what we need to know willingly and you might just spend time in jail with your mental faculties and limbs intact. Or, you can refuse and I will use ANY means within my power to make you talk, whether you walk away intact mentally and physically afterwards is up to those answers you give me."

Deadshot did not like the sound of that and looked at the Spartan intently, trying to see if the man was trying to lie. But he could not see anything that could tell him, only his own masked face was looking right back at him. The other League members were also watching the scene, wondering just what was going to be Deadshot's response to the threat.

"Is that some threat you're throwing at me?"

"No…it's a promise, and I keep my promises. And to tell you the truth, this is your lucky day."

"How do you figure that?"

"How much do you know of world history?"

Deadshot was confused by that and replied.

"I don't give a whit about history here!"

John tightened his grip a bit more, not enough to kill Deadshot, but enough to shut him up and replied.

"You should, you see, what you did is the same as the assassin that killed a certain archduke in history. You no doubt read about World War I right? All of that started because one assassin killed this noble in the hope of freeing his people. What he did not know was that his killing of that man would be twisted around by those who took advantage of the whole thing and in turn plunge the whole world into a bloody war that took the lives of millions of many sides, the destruction of lands and cities, and then the laying of the seeds that would start the next conflict you should know as World War II which took even more lives along with the atrocities that live to show the inhumanity in human beings."

"There are differences though, you tried to kill Aquaman just to get paid, and Aquaman was not just some high ranking official who was not too important in the whole mess yet was made into the cause of the war, but the sovereign ruler of a nation. If we had only been a few minutes short after you attacked him and if Batman had not figured out how to save him, then you would have done your job as you were paid to do. And in doing so, you would have plunged the whole world into a war that would have caused the deaths of many innocent people, and no doubt would have helped bring this world to utter annihilation and misery for years to come, all for money."

"And had I known that you did it just after the whole incident, I would not have hesitated to hunt you down, and unlike the last time when we first met, I would have made sure that there would not be enough of you left to be seen even by the best microscope money can buy. And if you've seen the news, and know me, you KNOW that unlike the others here in the League I have absolutely no aversion to killing when the time comes for me to cross that line."

"So once I caught you and I know that you are a threat to Humanity and in this case a traitor. Well, the only question is how I will end your wretched life, with guns, knives, toxins, explosives, or with my bare hands since I will consider killing you a public service as well as removing a stain on Humanity's good name."

Deadshot was silent at this as it began to fill into his brain the scope of what the Spartan was implying while the same could be said for Superman and Batman along with Green Lantern and J'onn, though Diana was in the dark about the events the Spartan was talking about. And after a moment of dead silence the Spartan eased his grip slightly and replied.

"The good news for all involved is that you failed to kill Aquaman, and he is alive and so are you, so this is why I said that today is your lucky day. Since you get to avoid being the greatest traitor to Humanity as well as being reduced into nothing but a simple statistic and have a chance to live a bit longer since I can't kill you yet. So…do you want to take the first choice, or the second one?"

Deadshot looked at the Spartan and decided that he was not going to risk trying to find out if the man was going to go through with his threat. Besides, now that he put two and two together, he was starting to think that this was the FIRST contract he was happy to have failed in completing.

"All right, all right, I'll talk."

John placed down the mercenary and the others in the League looked at Deadshot patiently and he gave the answer to their question.

"I don't know who hired me, I don't ask any questions, I get paid and I get the details of the target in question."

Batman growled at that and replied.

"Not good enough Deadshot!"

"Hey, don't loosen your belfry yet, all I know that I was paid very well, in fact, it was a bit odd in what I was paid with, but who was I to complain? My payment happens to be right there, solid gold at that."

The League turned and they saw a large wooden chest and it was open, no doubt shattered by the violent impact suffered by the van filled with Deadshot's weapons of choice. The contents however were more than enough to tell the heroes that whoever paid Deadshot paid very handsomely.

Batman picked up one of the coins to gauge the metal and spoke.

"These are Spanish doubloons, 14th Century, every last coin here must be worth at least a hundred or more thousand dollars. You do not find these kinds of coins anywhere but at high level security museums and in heavily guarded collection vaults, and certainly not in these numbers. And these happen to be very well preserved, doubling their value."

Superman was more than curious on who the benefactor of Deadshot was.

"Where could anyone get that much money?"

J'onn was deep in thought and it was not long before he came up with an answer that none of the League wanted to hear.

"In Atlantis…it seems that the Chief's feeling that Aquaman has a traitor in his kingdom was correct, and if this was how that traitor paid Deadshot, then the traitor is a very well supplied and connected one."

"We have to get to Aquaman fast!"

"Too late."

The others turned to see none other than John Stewart coming to their direction, rubbing his jaw as he was still aching from that unexpected attack from the man he was guarding. As he landed he gave them the news they definitely did not want to hear.

"His royal pain in the neck knocked me out and left the room just before you guys caught our target. No doubt he is walking right into an ambush in his own home city."

"Right into the hands of his own enemies as well."

Batman finished as he knew just what Aquaman had just walked into.

Diana was very worried as despite Aquaman's boorish manners and his way of dealing with people from the surface, she understood all too well his desire to protect his people as it mirrored the same desire she had to help defend others. And now he was walking right into the hands of his very own enemies, who were bitterly members of his own people. Who knew what they were going to do to him now that they had in their clutches.

"Hera help him."

The Spartan however was less than pleased but he placed that aside and spoke to Cortana who appeared in her avatar form in his hand. Unknown to Aquaman, he had managed to slip a UNSC NAV Marker on the Atlantean king's belt in an area that was not being searched a lot, this was his way of keeping an eye on him on the off chance the king left.

"Cortana, can you trace Aquaman's exact location?"

"Hold up…yes, he's high tailing it back to Atlantis at all speed, he's a fast one for being able to move this fast, and he's got a head start on us to boot."

"All right, looks like the Mako is about to get another trial by fire, we have to save him before whoever is responsible for this decides to declare total war on everyone here. But first…"

The Spartan turned to Deadshot and quickly grabbed him at a point in the neck and pressed hard; the man groaned but blacked out very quickly and fell down like a limp doll. J'onn scanned the mercenary and spoke to the Spartan in a slightly surprised way.

"You aimed at that spot to knock him unconscious."

"Yeah, killing him might have appealed to some, but not to me at this point, the real threat is the one who hired him. And that is because I have a feeling that who that person is has less than altruistic intentions towards us and the rest of the people here on the surface than Aquaman."

…

In Atlantis…

As he made his way deeper into his castle and towards the throne room, Aquaman was at war with that he had just heard from the Spartan a few hours ago, as well as rumors that he had been hearing the very second he came back. Several soldiers who were not on duty were stunned to see him and had even tried to bar him into the castle. When he demanded what was the reason they were bar their own king, they replied that they had heard that he had been killed

This was more than confusing to the Atlantean King, his injuries had been critical but he was saved…by the League and alive. He wanted to know who had said that he was dead and why they were suddenly getting ready to arm up their forces. The very second he learned that it was his brother Orm and his General Brak who were mobilizing the troops and their forces, he felt his body become cold.

(No…can it be…was that surface dweller right about there being traitors in my own kingdom? No! I must find out on my own!)

He moved through the room and headed directly for the room, already as he came closer, he heard the voice of his brother egging on the soldiers and guards in the castle. He was not alone as well as he heard the voice of General Brak and what he heard added even more unease in him.

"Now is the time! Now the time for mighty Atlantis to strike fear and terror into the hearts of it's enemies! We shall rise and wipe out the barbarians on the surface once and for all!"

He could not stand it anymore, he was going to get the answers he wanted and with that in mind, he stormed into the room and shouted.

"Enough!"

The gathered Atlanteans looked in the direction of the door and all of them were utterly surprised though Orm seemed to show some measure of control. But Aquaman was no fool, he could see that his brother was very surprised indeed to see him alive. And as he approached the throne and his brother, thoughts raced through his head

(Could Orm be the traitor as the surface dweller in armor said to me?)

(And could Brak be on his side?)

(Why did they not try to confirm if I am alive or dead? Even if I was dead, they should have at least recovered my body, and seeing that I am alive, had mentioned to everyone including Mera that I still live? Could they all be plotting to take over Atlantis and possibly plunge us into war with the surface and it's people?)

Aquaman shook his head mentally at this.

(No, now is not the time to dwell on these scenarios, I must get these answers soon, and stop this madness before things break out and become uncontrollable.)

"What is the meaning of this?"

Orm then spoke as Aquaman came closer.

"Brother, I was doing what I felt was right…I had thought that you were…"

"Dead?"

He marched towards his brother, angered at the sight of his half brother wielding the Trident of Poseidon and wearing the crown as if both were his. The line of succession in Atlantis was clear to all and, as he could now see that his brother had not even taken the time to learn his true condition and tell their people that he was not dead.

"As you can see brother, I am not yet dead, and now I want answers!"

"Answers to what brother?"

"You ask me of that? Why are you ordering the mobilization of the fleet and our soldiers?"

"I am doing what I feel is right, this affront to our people by the surface dwellers must be avenged! And what better way to do it than by using our technology and manpower to end the threat forever of the surface dwellers who pollute our seas, and encroach our borders with impunity."

Aquaman could not help but feel his anger and worry build, and he made that clear.

"I may have been injured in my time on the surface brother, but I am not dead, and I am still king Orm. I did not give any order to start a foolhardy war with the surface! I gave the both of you and Brak strict orders to…"

Orm glared at him and replied.

"You don't seem to get it brother…I am now the one giving the others around here."

"Orm, you are forgetting that I am alive and I am still king! And as King I am ordering you to stand down! Or else I shall mark you as a traitor!"

Orm glared and replied darkly at his half brother.

"You say that I am the traitor? It is you who is the traitor here; you sold us out the surface dwellers when we could have easily overpowered them with our technology. We have the manpower and weaponry to end their blight once and for all, and all you have done is avoid it! You are a coward and a true traitor to the power of Atlantis brother, and you're wasteful and weak reign is at an end!"

That was more than enough to finally push Aquaman's buttons as he could not stand hearing this from his own sibling of all people.

"Enough of this! Guards! Arrest the traitor!"

Aquaman looked at the men who were there in the room alongside him, Orm and Brak, he then recognized them to be Brak's men. He hoped that even with his war hawk like nature, Brak and in turn his own men would still remember his and their sworn loyalty to his king and that was him by right and choice by their father, and not some pretender even if it was Orm. But that proved to be a flaw…

Orm spoke in an arrogant and utterly satisfied tone to the soldiers with him and Brak.

"You heard him…arrest the traitor."

The soldiers leveled their weapons…not at Orm as Aquaman hoped, but to him…

In that moment, the truth was revealed to Aquaman and great rage filled him along with great shock and humiliation. The armored surface dweller was right after all, there were indeed traitors in his kingdom and they had just taken over while he was away. He had suspected that his brother had designs that were not good for the throne, and he had known that Brak was a war hawk by nature, but he had hoped that at the least they would not disobey his orders and follow them.

But now he knew that his hopes for them had been for nothing, now they were going to plunge Atlantis to a war he knew they could win, but he had hoped to avoid. That anger filled him and he felt a great desire to throttle his brother right there and then for this treachery.

"YOU TRAITOR!"

"Say what you want brother, but your time as King has passed, soon, I will accomplish what you have been too cowardly and cautious to do! To end ALL threats to Atlantis' greatness! And when I am rid of you…everything that should have been mine WILL be mine!"

With that, Aquaman was forced away by Brak's men and he could only watch in cold fury at his traitorous sibling who now had taken the throne. That fury was matched by the shock at the discovery of the fact that he had totally been blinded by his worries towards the surface world and the surface dwellers, that he had not watched out for the enemies who were around him already.

He tried to attack but he was shocked by the Trident and before he fell to unconsciousness, he saw his brother smiling darkly at him before darkness claimed him.

Orm smiled darkly as his brother was led away, he might be alive and his surface world hired assassin had failed him, but that could soon be remedied. Once his half brother was gone, then he could finally begin his rule and bring not just Atlantis under his rule, but the surface world once it was purged of the surface dwellers.

And while he found it ironic, he had to thank his brother for providing him with the last component he needed for his scheme.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Well, that wraps up this chapter, I am sorry if I took a while to cook this one up, I had to do some long overdue computer maintenance to make sure that everything was up to the standard. At any rate, if this thing does break down…again. I hope that it will be in a year or two, but here's hoping anyway. The good news is that with the new AV programs, I have cleaned out all the bugs, worms, and horses out of the computer's drives, so that should make things a darn sight easier for me

And the good news is that I finally got the kit that I needed to connect to the Internet so I should be all right from here on in. But like they say, always make sure to double check your gear.

Now on with the story…

…

On this chapter we now have the deal with Aquaman and his traitorous brother Orm, and you can bet that the Spartan and the League members on this episode are going to have their hands full with the man. Aquaman is all right in my book, I used to watch the old school version of him when I was still a youngster and when betamax was the way to watch and cable was none existent.

(I was born in 1984 after all.)

But this version is short tempered, thinks more with his fists at times, impatient, archaic in his way of political maneuvering, and not exactly the kind of person who one can say is able to see the big picture. Not that I hate him or anything, these are just my observations after all. You can bet that this is going to be different with the Master Chief and Cortana around so this should make the whole show interesting.

Vixen, according to the comics does stay in New York so it does make sense she would be there as well. Will her time with John have some results?

We shall see now won't we?

…

Now on to the topic of three concerns of mine that have cropped up apart from the Paradise Lost arc.

The first is that some people who I will not say their names out of respect for their opinions, have complained that John should go back to killing as he is a Spartan. That the idea of him being a non lethal specialist is false, is not in character, he should not take the DC approach of non lethal force and all that. Here's the deal, I see this story as a challenge to show that John CAN be able to take down foes in a non lethal fashion. I am well aware that he has taken human and Covenant lives, but that was in his universe and he has to adapt in order to fit into this universe he is in now.

If I wanted him to remain the fighting machine that he is, I should have picked a universe that does condone killing to some degree, like Marvel for instance as there are heroes who do kill, you know who being the prime example.

But I will point out that in this story; John does have the option to choose to go lethal if he knows that there is no other way around it. He will indeed kill, but only when he knows that that is the only viable option, and he will show no hesitation in doing so when the time comes so don't expect him to be like this all the time.

Second is the introduction of the MJOLNIR variant known to you all now as the Mako, named after the Mako shark, and it's actual appearance since I did not provide that many good details visual wise. I guess it would be fitting in the sense that it does have the sharkskin like scales increased movement in water with the propulsion system. That system in question being a more powerful and efficient but scaled down to human size version of the Drive system of the Red October. The Mako borrows some design elements from the Recon Armor design so it's more stream lined and makes less drag in the water. Naturally I decided to use Sonic weapons instead of the regular weaponry since it would cause some serious problems in the water environment.

And you can bet that this will not be the last of the Mako either since it will still be effective on the land's surface, though it's performance is more suited to underwater combat.

And the third if the Justice Lords arc…and the reason is that I have plans for this. No, I will NOT make a Justice Lord version of the Master Chief since to me that seems rather redundant and also a strike against John's own personality and traits. But I will have this being the first of possibly several episodes where the Master Chief DOES kill someone, and only because he made the choice to go lethal as he has secretly prepared for this moment though he had kept this for a far different purpose and was forced to use it. And yes, it WILL be one of the Justice Lords and that will be for all to see.

And who does he kill among the tyrant versions of his comrades?

You will have to wait and see.

…

Anyway, with that settled, I will get back to the next chapter…

Bye!


	11. Chapter 11

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: Again? I do not own DC or Bungie…

Chapter 7

Endgame…

( ): Thoughts

…

In Atlantis…

As Orm looked over the situation more, he could not help but smile as he looked at the door where his brother had been taken away. But he knew that he still needed to take care of the rest of his plans, it had to be done quickly before he could finally complete his plan. It was not long before he turned to the arrival to Mera herself.

"Orm! I have been hearing rumors that Arthur has returned!"

Mera had no idea that she had been merely moments away from discovering the betrayal of her husband by his traitorous half brother. Had she arrived moments before, the whole situation would have finally been revealed to her and she would have been dragged into the whole situation.

Orm turned and spoke to Mera, hoping that he could finally make his move in dealing with the other end of his plan. He gave a sad look to Mera and replied to her in the best way that he could.

"I am sorry Mera, but I am afraid that those rumors are false."

Mera's hopeful look on her face fell at the news and she could not help but turn and look at the doors and began wishing that her husband would arrive and be alive. She was unaware that he had gone through those doors earlier before being dragged off by Brak's men and also by those who were now following the traitors Orm and Brak.

"I am…trying to be strong…but without Arthur…"

Orm then moved and held Mera as he spoke.

"Do not worry yourself Mera. I will do whatever I can to take care of you…as well as your son."

That was an attempt to placate Mera, but she was not just a beautiful Atlantean woman who was the wife of the King. Mera was an intelligent woman and she could not help but feel that there was something off in the way that Orm spoke to her. She moved away a bit and looked at her brother in law and spoke.

"My son…what do you mean?"

"I have already taken the necessary steps and had him placed him under my protection."

That was yet another attempt by Orm to placate Mera and make his move, but Mera was not fooled. She sensed the strangely monotonous tone in Orm's voice and it was devoid of warmth that was genuine and not forced. She could not help but something was going on and she quickly made her way back to the area near the throne where her and Aquaman's son was sleeping.

As soon as she got there, she moved to the bed and removed the shroud to her shock, her sleeping son was no longer there, something was horribly wrong in her mind as she tried to look for her son. She turned and saw Orm looking at her with the Trident in his hand, this was more than enough to make her feel that something very wrong was about to happen.

And what Orm said next was more than enough to confirm it.

"Cooperate Mera and you and your son will be safe."

Mera began to wonder what was going on even more, and she began to feel that there was indeed something that was going on here that could be disastrous. The way Orm looked at her also frightened her but she managed to get her wits about and spoke seriously to her brother in law, who she now suspects was part of something that was utterly sinister.

"Why are you doing this Orm? What is going on here?"

"I am doing what I know is the right thing a king should do, something that I feel my brother has forgotten because of his tolerance of the barbarians. Stay here Mera, and things will work itself out in the end. I am doing what is best for Atlantis."

As he turned away, he smiled darkly, he knew that as soon as he dealt with this final detail and then pushed through with his plan. Once it was over, he would rule all of Atlantis as he should have been given the right to do, he would have the kingdom and it's riches, manpower and technology, he would have the power of his ancestors, and most of all, he would have the woman he desired.

"Soon brother, everything that was once yours shall be mine, as soon as I deal with you and your little child."

It was here that one of Brak's men came and bowed to him, this was enough to tell him that there was something going on.

"What is it?"

"We have received reports from one of our scouts, it seems that the surface dwellers that we encountered before have returned."

"I see…well then it seems that we have a loose end to take care of, ready our forces, greet them in the way barbarians deserve. And if they are captured alive, then bring them here so they can be dealt with quickly.

"Yes Lord Orm!"

…

In the Javelin…

John and the other members of the Justice League were now on their way to Atlantis, and already the Spartan was getting ready for a full blown fight. Apart from getting his newly tweaked Mako Armor, Cortana had decided to load him with modified Sonic Grenades as well as special Flash Grenades along with a Sonic Shotgun this time around along with a Sonic Assault Rifle and a Combat Knife. Though there was normally no way he could toss grenades underwater, he was going to use them as traps and make shift mines, and when in the city, he could only hope that he could use them the way they were intended to be used.

Cortana was along for the ride as Batman decided to stay behind until it was necessary for him to step in and help the team on the ground as it were. But both she and John did not like the situation with the trip to Atlantis and she was usually the kind of person who made that clear as she spoke to the others as she moved out of John's hand when she asked him to allow her to appear before the others, only this time, she decided to wear a replication of Miranda Keyes' uniform to make sure that she was not going to cause problems with the men since she recalled how Superman reacted even though he seemed to have overcome the whole situation.

"I get the feeling that we are making a very wrong move going straight into Atlantis."

Diana was the first to speak on that as she was in the position of navigator.

"Why do you say that what we are doing is going to be a problem Cortana?"

Stewart then added his own opinion.

"I have to ask the same question, where else are we going to get the answers that we need?"

"You have to keep in mind what we've already learned guys. The person who hired Deadshot had a lot of wealth and I have ran through some files and tests and the results are not good at all."

"Care to fill us in?"

"If the amount we saw is any indication, the traitor in question would be a high ranking member of the Atlantean society, namely a noble and possibly a member of the royal family. And that being the case, there is a chance that the traitor also has allies in the military. When we were talking to Aquaman in the hospital and before that incident in the World Assembly, I scanned him and he was not lying when he said that he had given orders to have the sub left alone. The traitor and his allies no doubt were the ones who countermanded that order without Aquaman knowing it and took the plutonium."

John then spoke as well.

"And there is the fact that if the traitor is a member of the noble class and possibly a member of the royal family, then there is no doubt that if they succeeded in capturing Aquaman, then that person will begin to mobilize the Atlantean Navy in a full war footing. Aquaman is a tolerant king since despite his less than stellar skills in diplomacy he has tried to find a solution that does not involve conflict, which is why this traitor is no doubt going to be the different one. No doubt that person will have Aquaman killed along with anyone who can claim the throne legitimately and be the only recognized ruler of Atlantis and that plutonium taken will be the key for the war."

The League members were silent at the implications of this and Superman spoke to them as soon as he was able think the whole thing over.

"So that means that the very second we get to Atlantis, we are walking into hostile territory. But we still have to try; just because this is the situation does not mean we cannot seek alternatives."

J'onn replied to that.

"Agreed, we also have to hope that they have not killed Aquaman yet, and we can rescue him before anything happens to him so he can reclaim the throne and prevent all out war."

Stewart then replied.

"Well then, we're going to have to find this traitor, and when we do, I am going to find out where that plutonium was taken. I still don't fully trust Aquaman that much, but if you say that he's not the enemy and the traitor is, then who is this backstabber?"

Diana replied.

"We will have to find out when we get there, Atlantean society is very isolated, all we know is that they have a royal family and naturally a king, and we do not know if Aquaman has a sibling who might be the traitor, or anyone else for that matter. Superman, you know Aquaman before we have, does he have any siblings, or family members?"

"I'm not sure Diana, I never set foot on Atlantis and I doubt that it would have sat well with Aquaman's people if I tried. That was two years ago as well so I will not be the least bit surprised that things have changed since I last saw him."

That was when J'onn spoke as his eyes glowed deeply.

"We might have to shelve those questions right now, I sense that we are about to be greeted and in a less than friendly fashion."

Cortana looked and nodded.

"You got that right J'onn! Incoming weapons discharge!"

Stewart spotted the incoming weapons and shook his head as he replied.

"Here we go again!"

The former Marine was quick to maneuver the Javelin away from the incoming fire, but he knew that things were going to be serious as more warnings came to him about more incoming fire. He spotted them and quickly began to move the Javelin as they moved over the reef and there was Atlantis itself. John then spoke to the others.

"We got to do something fast here! I think we should dive deep and hit fast and hard. Get into the city and finally see if we can get some straight answers."

The Spartan then replied.

"Not a good idea Gunny, if we do that, we're really going to make things even more serious than they have to be."

Superman then spoke to the others.

"It looks like we're going to have to leave the Javelin, I'll see if I can try to reason with them and hope that Aquaman managed to get his throne back."

"And if he did not?"

"Then we're going to have to go serious, but if anything happens then we do what we can to escape and find Aquaman and help him stop whatever these traitors in his kingdom have in mind."

The others nodded as Cortana was back into John's Mako and they left the Javelin quickly like before though J'onn was using his ability of being intangible to escape as Stewart used his ring to get the others out so they could fight a bit more seriously and not be too single a target. This time around, the Atlantean forces destroyed the Javelin and that was enough to tell the League that these forces were not in the mood for negotiations and were going to kill them.

"I guess that means the chance for negotiations are out the window Superman."

The Kryptonian had admit that Cortana was right and replied.

"All right then, we have assume that Aquaman has been taken and being held somewhere in the city, as much as I know this could be considered an invasion, we have no choice."

The others were quick on that as they decided to attack, J'onn used his own considerable strength and agility along with his ability to be intangible to attack his foes quickly, becoming intangible to avoid incoming fire that was heading for him as well as charging Atlantean soldiers. Diana blocked their incoming shots and resorted to her training in hand to hand combat under water back in Themyscira to even the odds, even using her lasso to catch some of the water bikes and use them as weapons after forcing their riders off.

Green Lantern used the same tactics as before, forming shields to defend himself from possible attacks heading at his direction while using beams to attack the Atlanteans and even ramming his shield into the attackers. He made sure not to use lethal force and only focus on disarming them of their personal weapons, as well as destroying their transportation. Superman did likewise and used his Heat vision which thankfully was unaffected by the water to disable their vehicles as well as their weapons before they could be used on him and the others.

As for the Master Chief, he was using his Mako to move around the water with considerable ease which was not just due to the Mako Armor he had on. This kind of battle underneath the surface of water was similar to the zero-gravity training system rooms that he and the others had trained in during their younger days. And while he was no expert in zero g combat like Li, he was no slouch either. He fired his rounds from his Sonic Assault Rifle to take down several Atlanteans with incapacitating shots and resorted to both hand to hand combat tactics and the use of his Sonic Shotgun when they got too nosey.

The situation was becoming a lot more hectic for the League as the larger and better armed Atlantean vessels came for them. And this time, they were not bothering to wait to be in effective range as they opened their weapons up on the League. This forced the League to move away and get to some sense of cover as they could not face this many without risk.

John then contacted the others as he knew that they had to move and not get hemmed in fighting with the Atlanteans.

"You guys have to keep moving! I'll cover you so get to Atlantis quickly!"

Wonder Woman was shocked by this and replied.

"You cannot be serious, you can't fight them all by yourself!"

Diana wasted no time as she joined John and the Spartan could tell that no amount of arguing was going to convince the Amazon princess to leave and join the others.

Green Lantern then replied.

"We'll keep moving but you guys had better follow either way, we're going to need all the help we can get!"

"Roger that Gunny! Get moving!"

The three members of the League turned around and headed to Atlantis, hoping that the desperate move made by the Spartan was actually going to pay off in the end because if not, they were not going to be in a very good situation. The two of them were doing all right enough as Diana deflected several incoming shots with her bracers in support of the Spartan was John continued to fire though he made sure to go for the water bike riders and not the heavier subs as he knew that he did not have the firepower needed to take out targets like that with him at this moment.

However as they began to catch up with the others after dealing with the heavier submarine that was supporting the Atlantean forces, Cortana shouted out a warning.

"Weapon banks in the rocks, get clear!"

The League heard it and quickly spotted them, the cannons fired out large metal spike balls at the heroes and they were able to avoid them easily. John was confused as to why those weapons were being used as they were non guided munitions. But he scanned them as he felt that the Atlanteans used these weapons for a reason. And sure enough he realized what the weapons were as he also recalled something about his history lessons on military hardware.

"Depth Charges! Move away fast!"

That was received by the League but it was too late as Green Lantern was sent smashing to the nearby wall, J'onn was knocked aside and sent into unconsciousness and Superman who tried to save the others was hit as well and sent to the floor hard.

"No!"

Diana tried to reach her comrades but John stopped her.

"They're all right, unconscious but alive, we can't rescue them now Wonder Woman!"

"We can't leave them!"

"I know, but if we get caught, we can't save them either! Follow me!"

John quickly moved as Diana followed in an attempt to escape as more of the depth charges were sent their way, they got closer to a nearby cave system and they turned just as they saw their fellow League members get taken by the Atlanteans. John turned and saw Diana's worry as he replied to her.

"We will get to them and save them, I promise."

The Amazon nodded and hoped that they would but they had to hurry as more depth charges came at them and soon the entire cave system was being destroyed around them. The Spartan and the Amazon moved deeper and hoped that they could find a way out, but the place was now falling apart and John quickly reached into his Rucksack conditioned tor underwater use and took out a specially made Bubble Shield.

"Wonder Woman, stay close to me!"

Diana did that and soon John threw the device to the ground and it activated mere moments as they were suddenly buried in large amounts of sea rock.

…

In the cave system…

The two Atlantean soldiers on their water bikes were looking around through the cave network as they had been dispatched to see if the two surface dwellers who had evaded the depth charges were still alive. They personally doubted it but General Brak wanted them to be absolutely sure that they were all taken care of. The other three who were still alive but unconscious were already secured and were being taken into the city for Lord Orm to deal with.

"Where could they be?"

"They can't survive being buried this deep can they?"

"We shall see."

As they went deeper, the second soldier finally spotted something and motioned for his companion to follow him and it was there that they spotted Diana and John, the Spartan was on his back and so was Diana and both of them were unconscious.

"Looks like we found them, we had better call this in."

One of the Atlantean soldiers under Brak's command looked at Diana and smirked in a very perverse fashion.

"You know, I do not think that we should report it in just yet."

"What do you mean?"

"I think we should have some fun first, we can present that armored surface dwelling barbarian to Lord Orm later, but I think we can have some fun with the female. She is certainly very attractive for a surface dweller."

The other soldier looked at Wonder Woman and admired her beauty and began to see the wisdom in that as he smiled.

"You're right, maybe we can have our fun before we turn her over to the others, we will restrain her of course and then who knows."

As the two moved closer and off of their bikes, the two moved ever closer to Diana as she lay there next to the Spartan who they felt was not able to move and help his female friend.

Unaware of the fact that John was not unconscious or dead for that matter, he was looking right at them mentally calculating their distance to him and Diana, and he was not alone as Cortana was also getting ready as she spoke to both him and Diana.

"Steady you two…let them get a bit closer."

The Atlanteans moved more and both were about to reach to Diana when…

"NOW!"

That command was not issued loud enough for them to hear as Cortana communicated with Diana using a special communication system that worked in water and was colored to resemble her skin. The Atlantean closest to John was suddenly shocked out his own perverse intentions for Wonder Woman when the Spartan rose up like a sea snake and grabbed him by the neck and began to strangle him, the other turned to try to make sense of, that was a mistake as his lapse of concentration allowed Diana to quickly move and slammed a hard into his face, followed up by a hard knee to his…privates.

The soldier screamed as Diana got up and delivered a killer of an uppercut to his chin and sent him smashing hard into the wall. And all that happened in moments just as the Spartan quickly knocked his own foe into unconsciousness with a strike to the back of the head. As soon as that was over, Diana looked at the two would be rapists with disgust and distain though she kept her cool at this point and time as John got up.

This was not something she enjoyed doing as she preferred a straight up fight but John cautioned her and told her that they had to make sure that they were not caught. They had managed to break out of their cover of rocks once they were sure that the cave was not going to collapse on them. The very second she heard the incoming water bikes and the chatter, the Master Chief told her to lie down in a position that would get their attention and he would lie there as if out cold to lure them in. It was underhanded and very unexpected, not the way her people fought, but she had to admit that it worked perfectly.

"Are you all right Wonder Woman?"

The Amazon nodded as the two of them got to the bikes, John scanned the bikes and spotted the radios as she spoke.

"How do you plan to make them think we are truly dead?"

"Watch."

He tapped the radio and soon a voice spoke.

"Patrol team 4, have you found any sign of the other two surface dwellers?"

John then replied…but not in his voice, but the voice of one of the soldiers that he and Diana knocked out.

"Negative sir, if they are still alive then I have no doubt we'd find them skulking about, the only thing we found here is rubble. I doubt that we can waste any more time here."

"That is a shame, Lord Orm would have loved to show their remains to their friends as a way to show the fate of their people. Once the plan is underway, we shall strike fear into the surface world. Very well then, if you have found nothing, then remain in your area for now until General Brak gives the order."

"Yes sir!"

As soon as that was over, John took the radios and tore them apart on each bike and spoke to Diana.

"There, that should by us some more time to get in and rescue the others. We'll need to seal this place up to make sure those two don't get out and warn the others."

Diana nodded in agreement, impressed slightly by the deception the Spartan had played on their foes though she was still not too happy with going back to sneaking around like cowards.

"I'll deal with that issue."

As soon as they secured the two with salvaged ropes in the carrying areas of the water bikes and took down the engines of the water bikes, they moved out and began to break down the cave entrance quickly to seal the place down and quickly. Their actions was more than enough to send the cave walls and roof to come down and begin to fill up the cave.

Once they were done, Diana turned to John and she spoke to the Spartan.

"How were you able to speak in that Atlantean's voice?"

"Cortana listened to their voices while they were looking at us and thinking that we were unconscious. Once she was done analyzing the voice patterns, pitch, tone, octaves, she made adjustments to the speakers in the Mako to replicate the way the Atlantean would speak and so when I spoke…."

Diana nodded as she quickly understood what John was getting at and replied.

"You spoke in his voice and not your own…very interesting."

Cortana replied warmly at that.

"It's not too hard to do, and truth be told, it was not the first time I have done it. But we have to hurry soon and get into the city, we have the advantage since the Atlanteans now think we are dead. We move fast enough and get into the city, then we have a better chance of saving the others."

It was at this point that Batman got into contact with them.

"This is Batman, is that you Spartan, Cortana, Wonder Woman?"

Diana replied.

"Yes, it is us."

John replied as well.

"I am here as well."

Cortana was the next to speak as well.

"Right here Batman, I am still functioning at this moment and dying to do my job."

"That's good, after I lost your signals along with the others, I thought that it was all for nothing. Are you two in the city already?"

Diana replied.

"No we are not yet in the city, we're going to make our way into the city as soon as we avoid the patrols."

"Understood, but I have something to pass in, it seems that there is some serious movement in the area of Atlantis, the depth of the area in Atlantis is making it hard for me to get an idea what is it I am looking at, but I can say that there is no way those are whales. I have the feeling that what I am seeing is the Atlantean Navy but I cannot be sure either way."

Diana then replied.

"Can you find the others Batman?"

"I am tracking their communicator signals in the city, the signals from their communicators are all fairly faint since they are possibly deep inside the city and in a building with very thick walls or something in the city that blocks signals. There's a chance that until I make some calibrations that I cannot contact you two either once you are in they city so you will have to go on your own."

John replied to that.

"Understood Batman, we're moving out now."

"All right, I'll keep an eye on what I found and relay anything that can be of importance."

With that, both Diana and the Master Chief were moving out while they were keen on avoiding any patrols that might be in the area. And already they could see that there was something going on as there seemed to be a lower number of patrols that normally should be around a city as well. Diana was more than about to notice this and spoke as they moved closer and closer to the city.

"These patrols are very small…perhaps what Batman said is true, the Atlantean Navy is on the move. What I cannot understand is why they are moving, they should be securing the city and holding it down. What could they accomplish by leaving the city this lightly defended?"

John had to admit that Diana had a point, it made no sense to him why the military would leave the city this lightly defended. He ran through the scenarios that could explain the situation and so did Cortana. But the Spartan knew that until they got the details of what the situation was inside the city, they could not waste time thinking of possible scenarios.

"You're right on that regard Wonder Woman, we'll need more information to make sure on what could be the reason for this. For now we will need to deal with finding the others, be ready."

Diana nodded as they carried forward, attacking the patrols would be a viable option, there was a problem with that since it would have raised the alarms in the city. So they had to move as they knew that they needed to save their comrades.

…

In the palace…

Superman, J'onn, and Green Lantern began to wake up and it was here that they heard a voice speaking to them. A voice filled with disdain and anger.

"Filthy surface dwelling savages, what are your kind doing here in Atlantis?"

The Man of Steel tried to free himself but realized something was wrong and turned to see that J'onn and Stewart had some form of device on their heads, and he guessed that those must be some form of power inhibitor devices and as such, he must have one himself. He turned and spoke to the man before him.

"We came here…to find Aquaman."

"I thought your kind already killed him?"

"We did nothing of the sort, he came back here and we followed to tell him of a plot to take over the throne and take his life, a plot cooked up by Atlanteans who want to take the throne."

Many of the people there did not believe it but there was another who listened and it was Mera who began to think about what she had been hearing as well as Orm's recent actions. She then saw Orm lift the trident and strike at Superman.

"Lies and deception! You claim that we would betray our king? The king that you barbarians killed in that building you call your Assembly? You will pay for that with your lives!"

Superman cried out in pain as Orm stopped and spoke, unaware that Mera was watching.

"You will all be used as examples to your fellow surface dwellers, and it is a shame that your two other companions were not found alive at all. It would have been fitting to show their remains to you and then to your people, but they were never found. But do not worry, you will soon be joining them so none of you will get to see how I will lead our people over your own and wipe your barbarians out!"

Superman and the others were shocked at the news as they were taken away…but they were unaware that their comrades were alive and heading into the city. And Orm was not aware that his plan had one snag in it, the woman who his brother married and the woman that he desired as Mera followed him to see what he was up to.

And she was already getting herself set to stop whatever he was planning not just for their people or her son and husband, but the world itself.

…

At one entrance…

John looked at the door and readied his Sonic Assault Rifle as he made sure to wait for the right moment to make the move. He then gave a signal with his hand to Diana who followed him, he and the Amazon had been able to avoid being found and no doubt had been taken for dead. Thankfully the Atlantean soldiers didn't make the move to determine the authenticity of the report that he had send them with the copied and altered voice of the guards he and Diana dealt with. That was a text book example or arrogance and foolishness in his mind and both usually led to defeat for the ones who were affected by it.

As soon as the patrol moved away, they moved into the entrance and were soon into the dock with Cortana entering the security network once John placed his hand on the nearby control surface. Cortana took a few moments to orient herself into the system while the two heroes covered her, once she was done, she was able to open the door and the two were now into the complex and they approached a docking area. John surfaced near the dock and took out a fiber optic cable cord from his Mako and used it as a very hard to see periscope to see what was up there.

He then spotted two soldiers nearby and saw that the two of them seemed to be deep in discussion with one another. He looked around the location a bit more to be sure and then moved down and spoke to Diana.

"There's two guards there, attacking them is a viable idea, but we have to do it fast."

Wonder Woman smiled and replied as she took off the golden lasso that she carried.

"Allow me to handle that."

John nodded and Diana moved the surface and without too much difficulty spun her lasso and tossed it, roping both the Atlantean soldiers as their conversation had helped her catch them off guard. That was made more possible in the fact that the two were looking in the other direction. She dragged them down before they could cry out and as soon as they hit the water, they were knocked out by the two heroes and restrained.

John then moved first, moving out of the water with his Assault Rifle at the ready and covering Diana as she got out. The Amazon removed her breathing mask and placed it aside for the time being as the two of them moved out and into the city itself.

…

Once they were in the city, they could see that the city of Atlantis was very much an impressive sight, Cortana herself commented on it.

"Wow, this place is grand."

Diana was not far behind either as she took in the beauty of the city of Atlantis.

"This city is beautiful indeed, I can see why Aquaman would do anything to defend it as well as his people."

John then replied.

"We're not here for sight seeing, let's go before we're caught."

The two women nodded as the three of them moved out and try to find their way into the city, sure enough the signals from the communicators on Superman, J'onn, and Green Lantern was very weak to almost lost. They would have to hurry and find them before they were lost, however they were having a problem as they had no idea just where the palace was. They already agreed that their comrades were possibly taken to the castle and being held there. The problem they were facing was the fact that they had no idea of the layout of the city, and John knew it, without any idea the exact layout of the city that they were in, they were going to get lost, and possibly encounter Atlantean soldiers.

Diana then spotted a fairly high tower nearby and an idea came to mind.

"I can fly up to that tower and look around to see the city, and locate the castle."

John nodded at that.

"Go for it Wonder Woman, I'll stay out of sight."

The Amazon quickly flew up, thankful that she could fly under the dome of the city, and was soon on the roof and looked about. And she did not have long to look as she spotted the largest building in the center of the city itself. The way it looked and the position was enough to tell her that there was the target as she spoke to her communicator.

"Spartan, I've spotted the main palace, it's in the center of the city. And at least several more blocks from where we are."

"I got it Wonder Woman, we'll have to move fast, the patrols are still around."

The Amazon nodded as she came down to join her companion as the two of them moved quickly to the alleyways of the city. John would also stop and use his Sonar that operated well enough on land as it was still based on his basic Motion Sensor. They managed to use the large area of the city to move about until they were getting closer to the castle as Diana pointed out the appearance of the castle to John.

As they arrived, they decided to see if they could locate an entrance, they moved back into the shadows and they spotted a number of guards. But it was here that the two heroes heard the group arguing with one another about something and John was quick to eavesdrop on the situation.

"I still am not sure about this, I know that Lord Orm is currently acting as regent, but why is he ordering us to leave Atlantis? And why has there been no attempt to at least recover our king's body for the burial befitting our kings of old?"

"I do not know, but you should ignore it and follow your orders."

"I heard the rumor that the King is indeed alive and was here."

"You believe that? The surface dwellers tried to kill him! And they tried to hide it as well."

"But I talked with Duran who was in the castle and he said that he saw our king there in one of the hallways."

"Duran was lying."

"How can you say that?"

As the bickering group moved on, John and Diana looked at one another as Cortana spoke to the two of them from their current hiding place a fair distance from the castle.

"Looks like not everyone here is cooperative terms with one another on the matter of Aquaman's supposed death. This might be a good thing, if not everyone in Atlantis is agreeing with Lord Orm, whoever this Lord Orm is."

Diana replied.

"He could be the traitor or one of the supporters of the traitor who is trying to usurp the throne. Those two we took out in the cave mentioned his name as well as their General named Brak. Those two could very well be allies at the same time. He might as well be the one who had given the orders for the plutonium to be taken from the sub."

John nodded as he looked about and spotted a lower number of guards, which further added weight that something was going on before the three of them. This was the heart of their government, for the Atlantean military to leave it like this was odd. He signaled Diana to follow him as they quickly moved closer towards the castle in the cover of the buildings nearby. He was not a skilled Spartan in stealth unlike the others in the teams, but he made due as they came closer. John then spotted a nearby entrance with very few guards, and spotted an Atlantean who entered through the door who did not wear the usual armor and carried weapons meant that this was a servant's entrance.

John pointed to it and spoke to the two.

"That's our entrance, we have to be quick and hard, the element of stealth will not help us here, so we have to use more direct force."

Diana nodded as John took out one of his Flash Grenades and he spoke.

"The second I toss this, move fast and hard, take this and put in it own."

John took out a pair of shades that had a golden sheen in them though these hardly looked like fashion wear to regular people as there was a module on the left side of the frame and what appeared to be some form of connected ear plugs on the legs. Diana took the device and looked at John with some confusion and asked the question.

"What are these?"

"Special reactive visors, they are programmed to react to intense light sources and also serve to allow for a limited but tactically useful form of night vision. They will protect your eyes from the glare of the flash grenade so you will not have trouble, and the ear plugs that are built in handle the sound so you won't be disoriented."

Diana took them on and smiled with some surprise as instead of a golden sheen, the world before her was the same as before. She turned to John and nodded that she was ready and he nodded as well as he quickly focused his strength to throw the weapon. He triangulated the distance as well as the drop rate and angle of the grenade when thrown as well as the distance between them and the target as well as the entrance into the castle. Once he had done all that, he tossed the grenade and it soon sailed right between the two guards. They were shocked and looked to see John and Diana rushing at them, they ignored the odd device and aimed to engage the unknowns, but that was a mistake as the Flash Grenade went off.

"AAAAAGGGGG!"

Both of the guards shouted in shock as they were suddenly blinded and were now unable to see their attackers, this allowed Diana to close the distance unaffected by the flash due to her protection and knock out her target with a quick left hook followed by a spinning back kick that sent him to the wall and out like a light, John followed up and smashed his Sonic Assault Rifle butt first in the face of his foe with controlled force and followed that by a chop to the back of the head.

Both guards were now out for the count as the two moved in through the entrance, they could only hope that they could find Aquaman and the others and put a stop to this whole situation before it turned sour.

…

Unknown to them…

Aquaman struggled as best he could at the chains that bound him over a rocky outcropping that he knew led down to an active lava fissure. He could already see the lava below him and feel the heat coming from it but he focused on trying to remove himself from the trap. He sensed someone was coming and looked, scowling darkly as he recognized the figure.

"Orm…"

The traitorous sibling of Aquaman looked at his brother and sneered as he spoke.

"You have no idea how long I have planned for the day that I took what is rightfully mine. You're tolerance for those barbarians was always so sickening to me brother, but now I have to thank you, your actions recently allowed me to get the last keys to my master plan."

The blonde king of Atlantis glared at the usurper and replied.

"You think killing me will make the people of Atlantis follow you Orm?"

Orm shook his head and still had that arrogant sneer on his face.

"Of course not brother, the royal lineage could be rather messy, but that is why I came, you see you will not die alone here."

Orm then produced a bundle from his other hand and the second Aquaman saw the cloth, heard the cries coming from it, and saw it move he realized that it was his first born son in Orm's hands. That increased his fury as he struggled even harder to free himself, all the while enraged at the thought of Orm willing to kill his own nephew and rightful heir to the throne.

"You bastard! You would dare to kill my son!"

"Of course I would, after all, he is the heir to the throne is he not? But that will not be how the others will see it. Since the young prince will also be the victim of the surface dwellers aggression, this will make the only surviving heir to the throne, along with my own sons don't you think? "

"Damn you Orm!"

Orm moved to secure the baby next to his father as Aquaman tried desperately to free himself and save his son. He saw Orm take his knife and place it into the rock face and use it to hold the baby. Aquaman's actions however managed to loosen one of the chains somewhat but not enough to fully free him. It

Orm swam away and then turned to speak to his brother for the last time.

"Good bye brother, I will be busy mourning your deaths and then taking the fight to your killers from the surface."

He then took the trident and fired the weapon at the rock face, sending it sliding down to the lava river below.

"ORM!"

Aquaman heard his son's cry and knew that he had to hurry and save his son as well as himself. He continued to focus his strength to free himself on the chain that he knew was already loosened by his previous attempt. It was not long before the chain anchor finally broke and he quickly turned to do the same thing to the last chain.

But his actions were not going anywhere as the rock face continued to go down even more as his son continued to cry out loudly. He knew that he had to hurry and took off the buckle of his belt and began to focus on trying to cut the chain. The buckle was sharp and strong, but it was not strong or sharp enough to cu the chain that was holding him down hard.

Aquaman looked at the lava the glowed even brighter and felt the heat build, knowing that they were coming closer. He turned to see his son cry out even more and then looked at his still chained hand and made his choice as he raised his buckle and shouted out as he drove the buckle down…

But not at the chain.

…

Back in the city…

John and Diana were fighting fast and hard as more guards were coming their way, some were armed with energy weapon rifles and fired at them. Diana countered them while John fired at their weapons and at the soldiers, destroying their weapons while wounding them as well since he amplified the Sonic power cells. As soon as he ran dry, he reloaded and switched to his Shotgun as several more guards came at them, this time it was a mix of those armed with blasters and the others armed with swords. He turned around as Diana covered his back and blocked several more shots heading their way as he blasted the ones with the swords who charged and when he knocked them down injured but alive, he switched to his Sonic Assault Rifle but not before grabbing a sword and gave it to Diana.

"Here! I'll take down the next ones!"

The Amazon nodded as she wielded the sword and allowed John to move to the other side and shoot down more of the guards coming with spears and other melee weapons while she flew in, blocking the rounds fired at her with her bracers and as she landed, began cutting their weapons and knocking them out. She made quick work of her foes with her punches and then turned to toss the sword and stop another Atlantean from spearing the Master Chief from behind as her throw lifted the man to his feet and stuck him to the wall as John finished off the rest.

John gave her a nod and she replied with a smile as they kept moving forward, they soon were in a tunnel and entering another hallway when he spotted more guards, Diana turned to take on the two armed with spears while he aimed his weapon at the two armed with blasters.

But then he spotted another figure behind the guards then to his surprise and Cortana's the figure was armed with a mace and…

WHACK!

The figure then knocked the two guards out cold with the weapon, and the Spartan saw that it was a woman who was carrying the weapon and not a regular woman at that.

Judging by her crown as well as the quality of her robes showed she was a high ranking member of Atlantis, knocking the hell out of the two guards who were about to attack them convinced John to lower his weapon as Diana finished off her own attackers. The Amazon turned and spotted the woman and relaxed since she saw John lower his weapon, and she knew that they only time he did that was when the person or being in front of him was not a threat.

John then spoke.

"Who are you?"

The woman looked at the two of them carefully and spoke to them.

"You're differently dressed, but you are no Atlanteans, are you part of the group that Orm captured?"

Diana nodded and replied.

"Yes we are, but who are you?"

"I am Queen Mera of Atlantis, and as you can guess, I am Aquaman's wife. I know where you're friends are being held right now, but we have to hurry as Orm has them captive and plans to kill them by drowning them in sea water."

As the group moved, John then spoke to the Queen.

"We heard this Orm's name earlier Queen Mera when we entered your city, he would not happen to be a traitor who plans to take the throne?"

"You will be right, he had staged a coup here and has taken my son, I overheard your fellows say that you came here to warn my husband of a plot coming against him from Atlantis itself as Orm interrogated them and planned to have them drowned as examples to the fates of the people on the surface. Orm is Aquaman's brother as well and he is not alone as I have a feeling that he is allies with the head of our military, General Brak."

Diana then spoke to Mera.

"Then it should be known to you that Orm hired an assassin from the surface named Deadshot to kill your husband. We were able to save him and managed to lure and capture Deadshot and learn of the plot, but before we could warn your husband, he left and came back here. Orm must have taken him captive and took him away."

Mera growled at this while carrying the mace in her hand.

"I will do what I can to make him pay for this atrocity, and for taking my son from me."

John spoke as well.

"He took your son?"

"Yes and he told me that if I cooperated with him I would see my son again. I doubt that he will actually do that and I will make him pay for whatever he will do to my son, but we have to hurry, your friends have been restrained by Orm with power restrictor bands to strip them of their powers so they will not be able to escape from what he has subjected them, I know the way so I will lead."

John nodded and so did Diana, the three of them moved quickly and Mera finally stopped at the turn and spoke to the two heroes.

"I will handle the guards and you can get your friends so we can find out what Orm is plotting and possibly find my son and my husband."

Mera then moved to the side and carried her mace behind her while Diana and John watched her move to support her just in case things get dicey. However, they did not have to wait for too long or even help Mera as the soldiers seemed to still see her as Queen, allowing her to take down one with her weapon and then the other who could not finish his surprised shout as he was knocked out.

John gave a nod of approval while Cortana smirked at this and Diana merely smiled. The two of them joined Mera and she quickly began to operate the door and stop the drowning of Superman, Green Lantern, and J'onn. Once they got the all clear, the members of the Justice League went in to find their comrades alive and well. John and Diana quickly removed the restrictor bands and Superman spoke.

"Good…to see you guys are alive."

Diana replied to that.

"Good to see that you are all still alive as well Superman, sorry for the delay, sneaking into a city this size was not easy."

The Kryptonian nodded as he felt his strength and power come back and he replied.

"Orm said that you were dead."

John snorted a bit and replied.

"Orm apparently was misinformed in that regard, no offense to the Atlanteans, but their arrogance towards us who live on the surface is about to kick them in the gut."

The three other League members could not help but chuckle a bit as Diana then replied.

"We also had help, she's outside waiting for us."

The newly reunited Justice League came out to meet Mera and she spoke to the three other heroes.

"I am pleased to see that you are all safe, my name is Mera, Queen of Atlantis and wife to Aquaman. You already met Orm who is my husband's half brother, and you should know that he is the one you were looking for concerning the plot to take over the throne, I already informed your friends when I met them and I know now that he was the one who tried to kill him."

Stewart realized that what they said about Aquaman was true and he sighed a bit and knew that he was going to have to admit that he went half cocked in dealing with the man, but he decided to keep that for a better time and replied.

"Is there any clue to where he might be?"

"I do not know, Orm had not said anything, but I have no doubt now that he must have taken my husband when he came back here. I heard the rumor that he had returned before you came and now that I know that Orm is the traitor, I am sure that he had captured my husband when he had indeed returned."

John then had an idea.

"I'll go and look for him, he still must have that NAV Marker I tagged on him on his belt. Besides, we still have to secure the palace and keep Queen Mera safe from harm. She might not be King but as Queen she has a level of authority and power here in her home city, if anything happens to her if Orm still has men loyal to him, then we're really going to be neck deep in it."

J'onn nodded at that.

"The Spartan is right, we will need to make sure that she is safe as Orm might indeed have agents here to keep an eye on her. Her actions in helping free us could give them reason to kill and blame us for her death. We can also help her in finding out who are the remaining soldiers who are indeed loyal to her and Aquaman."

The others nodded as John moved out, but not before Mera spoke to him.

"Please find my husband and bring him back, only when he is here and we find his son and mine will everything be all right and we can repair the damage that Orm and his lackeys have done, as well as bring them to justice."

The Master Chief could tell that she truly wanted this and he replied with respect and confidence to the beautiful Atlantean Queen.

"You have my word your Highness."

…

Later…

John soon left the city and thankfully he had not encountered any heavier resistance but that worried him even more as the lack of heavy resistance that was strong enough meant that something was up. He placed that out of his mind however as he focused himself on locating Aquaman. He also hoped that the rest of the League could be able to lock down the palace and keep the Queen safe. As soon as he was out of the city, he was able to get a signal from the NAV Marker he tagged Aquaman with and headed in that direction at full speed. As he was getting closer to the now revealed NAV Marker where the Atlantean King was, Cortana called in to him as she noted that the NAV Marker was on the move and heading towards the city as well.

"Better hold up Chief, I am picking up movement from the NAV Marker going your way, which must mean that Aquaman is already heading back to Atlantis, you might as well go and intercept him."

"Got it."

The Master Chief did just that and soon he spotted from a great distance the lone water bike heading in his direction. He moved towards it and as he got closer, he spotted the Atlantean king and he was holding something in his other hand…and John's eyes plus the Mako's scanner picked up something coming from his left hand and it was blood.

Cortana commented on that.

"Oh hell no, you better get over there Chief, Aquaman looks badly injured."

It was not long before the two met one another as Aquaman recognized the Spartan once more and spoke to him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you Aquaman, we've managed to learn who the traitor is, though I have no doubt you already know who it is when you came here."

Aquaman looked down and growled a bit but replied.

"I have and it cost me…I will make sure to have Orm dealt with, for now I must return to Atlantis and take command of the city from my brother. But if you are here then does that mean?"

"That the others from the League are here? Then yes we are there we had to fight Brak's men when they came to greet us earlier. Superman, J'onn, and Stewart were caught in the fighting but I and Wonder Woman were not. We infiltrated the city and were aided by your wife in rescuing the others and identifying your brother as the traitor."

Aquaman's eyes widened and he seemed elated by the news.

"Is Mera safe?"

"Yes, the other League members have escorted her and locked the palace down to ensure she remains safe. This was done on the off chance that any of Brak's men are there, and if your brother left any agents to watch over the place and your wife as well. You're wife is a brave and dedicated woman Aquaman, I am no expert in these things but I can say that you made the right choice for a queen."

Aquaman gave a slight smile at that and replied.

"That is why I married her. I…am thankful that you and your fellows have kept her safe from Orm. I will never forgive myself if Orm had his clutches on Mera."

"I'll make sure to break his fingers as well as his arms if he does for you if you wish."

That made Aquaman's smile a bit larger as he replied.

"I'll keep that offer in mind, for now we have to get back to the Castle to safeguard my son. And I need to see a physician."

"You cut off your hand to save your son?"

Aquaman looked at the Spartan and was curious as to how the man had figured that out.

"How did you know?"

"I spotted some of the blood flowing out from the cloth earlier due to my Armor's scanners, it's not much right now, along with the fact that if you still had your hand, I would have seen it when you carried your child. Plus the bandage was kind of telling."

"I see…come on, we have no time to lose."

"Let's do that then, but just so you are aware, we discovered that a vast portion of your military is not in the city. For some reason your brother and Brak have ordered a large portion of your forces away and left only token resistance there in the city. We also learned that he was the one who had to plutonium taken from the sub against your orders."

That was enough to make Aquaman wary as he was accompanied by the Spartan back to Atlantis.

…

In the palace…

As soon as John and Aquaman returned, Mera was utterly pleased to see her husband, and even more so with the sight of their son safe and sound. The only thing that horrified her as well as the other members of the League was the fact that Aquaman had severed his own hand to free himself to save their son. The other members of the League were still in the throne room while Mera was placing their son back in bed under the watch of two soldiers who were loyal to Aquaman and her and were proven as trust worthy by J'onn. She went back and waited for her husband to return from being treated by one of their physicians.

Superman shook his head at this and replied.

"He severed his own hand…I can't believe it."

Lantern replied to that as well, though he was still a bit unhappy with the situation.

"I don't know whether to call him gutsy or plain mad."

Mera looked at the dark skinned man and replied.

"Is it madness to sacrifice something to save those you love?"

Lantern had no idea what to say about that and the Spartan then replied to that.

"Chief Mendez used to say that if you have to choose losing a limb or losing your life, take losing a limb since you can still do more good alive than dead. And let's not forget the old saying, it is a father's duty to defend his child no matter the cost. Personally I would have preferred that he allowed us to Flash Clone him a new hand. I even offered to do it for him when we came back here."

Lantern then spoke to the Spartan.

"So why did he refuse it?"

Aquaman then spoke as he was now in the throne room, apparently the Atlantean king had placed a harpoon weapon as his new hand.

"I refused it because this will remind of the price I paid for not acting like a proper king and ignoring the possibility of my enemies being closer than I suspected."

Superman then spoke.

"We can have time to think about all of this later, right now we have to figure out just what Orm intends to do with the plutonium. I doubt he would use the nuclear missiles since those could be detected easily enough and then shot down, he might have gone for the plutonium and took the missiles for parts or for another purpose entirely."

They got their answer as Batman called in to the others.

"This is Batman, can you all hear me?"

Superman took the call in that moment.

"We read you Batman, we're in the palace and we know who the real threat is."

"Good because things are about to get a lot more complicated, I recently tracked what I have now seen as the Atlantean Navy in the North Pole. There's a large increase to temperature there in the polar ice caps and glaciers and already the scanners are showing a massive increase in sea levels as well as drop in the salinity level of the oceans. If that keeps up, the results could become catastrophic."

John's eyes widened a bit inside the helmet of his Mako Armor and he quickly spoke to Cortana in private.

"Cortana, run through every scenario you can think of on what the results will be if the North Pole Ice melted down completely."

"I got it."

The Spartan then spoke to the others.

"That must be what Orm is up to, Aquaman; you built something there in the North Pole didn't you?"

The king looked at the Spartan who glared at him through his golden visor and he knew that now was the time to tell them of the one device he had secretly built. He had made it years ago when he was still very much in favor of a more aggressive course of action in dealing with the people on the surface, but he never armed it at all.

"Yes, it's called the Doomsday Thermal Generator, I had it constructed to melt the ice caps if ever war with the surface world happened."

This shocked the League and Lantern most of all as he growled angrily at the man he was barely starting to respect for his willingness to sacrifice a limb for his child.

"You did what?"

"But I never armed it, and I hoped that I never had to."

Diana then spoke as well as she began to see just what the full situation was.

"That must have been why Orm stole the plutonium, to serve as the fuel for the device."

Aquaman then looked at the harpoon that was his new arm and recalled the actions of his brother, he had to do something now and end this whole thing to prevent Atlantis plunging into a war he knew would have been foolish and too costly.

"I will stop Orm."

Superman nodded and spoke.

"You're going to need help if you want to do that."

"This is between me and Orm, and this is a problem for Atlantis to handle, do not get yourselves involved in this."

John however was not in the mood for this and walked to Aquaman and spoke in a tone that was thick with authority and seriousness.

"You are not thinking straight again, this is not a matter solely between you and Orm, nor is it a problem that affects only your people."

The Spartan was now before Aquaman face to face and the Atlantean was silent at this as he was surprised as not even Superman was this aggressive.

"That device you built is going to destroy the cities of the people above, causing untold damage, and taking away the live of millions. Not only that, you are talking about destroying the very environment of the world as well as altering the very face of this planet all together, and what will that accomplish? It will unite EVERY nation in the world against your people since every last person who will know that it was your brother, and in turn your people who attacked them, they will not hesitate to fight back with every weapon that they have. Your brother will declare total war on the world at large if he does this…and when total war is concerned, the only outcome is mutual extinction."

"Like it or not Aquaman, your home of Atlantis is part of this planet, and so are your people as well. Whatever damage occurs on the surface that will destroy it will eventually destroy your own people as well. In the end, the only result is the eventual destruction of your people by their own hands. If you do not believe me, then the League will show you just what I mean by that. But the bottom line is this, this is not your problem alone…this is the problem of all the living beings on this planet! And we will not stand by either, like or not, we will come with you. "

John said nothing else and Aquaman remained silent, seeing only his own reflection staring back at him. He decided that he would have to put aside some time to speak to this man once his brother was dealt with along with those who stood by him.

"All right then, come along and we can end this all. And when we do, you had best come up with a viable explanation on why whatever affects the surface world can possibly affect my people. But Orm is mine, he is my problem alone and I will deal with him."

John answered that as well.

"I understand."

Aquaman turned and headed out as the Spartan did the same thing and Stewart walked over to the Spartan and spoke to him.

"That was different."

"I know, but at least we don't have to waste any more time, we should get going to the North Pole fast."

…

As soon as they got there, they encountered Orm's allies as well as the Navy who did not waste time trying to stop them from trying to get to Orm. The Spartan was also swimming along with Aquaman using the Mako's propulsion system and he was also fighting with the Atlantean soldiers while the others did them same thing. Aquaman used his harpoon to attack those with weapons and knock them out his fists. Diana used her rope to unseat any of the soldiers while J'onn did the same thing and tossed the soldiers around while Green Lantern and Superman were attacking the heavier subs with the bigger weapons.

The team continued to fight with the Atlantean soldiers with all that they had but Aquaman decided to head off and deal with his brother as Batman arrived and reported that the damage to the North Pole's Ice caps was getting worse. Superman knew that they had to hurry but they could not afford to ignore the Atlantean Navy either.

Superman then decided to make his move as he spoke to the others.

"Wonder Woman, J'onn, and I will deal with the Atlantean Navy and keep them from getting into the heat of things. Lantern and the Chief will have to support Aquaman and meet up with Batman, we have to stop Orm quickly before things get even worse in this situation."

"Got it!"

Both of the heroes were accompanying Aquaman and supported him when being attacked, John managed to take out Brak's water bike as the traitorous general led the next counter attack. Aquaman then summoned a killer whale that flew out from the water and scattered the forces of the Atlanteans before him. Green Lantern was impressed and the Spartan had to admit that it was also impressive.

However, they knew that they still had to focus on helping Aquaman as they covered his back, though Lantern decided to meet up with Batman while the Master Chief covered Aquaman from those would try to attack him and Aquaman.

…

In the massive cavern…

Aquaman continued into the cavern, careful in his movements as he was wary of a possible attack from his brother. As soon as he was in the deeper part of the cavern, he quickly spotted his brother and shouted out to him.

"ORM!"

Orm turned and he glared at his brother while wielding the trident, he spotted the prosthetic and quickly guessed just how his brother had escaped. And despite his hatred of him, he had to give his brother some credit for taking such a risk like that.

"You cut off your own hand? It seems you are not as cowardly or weak willed as I thought."

"You call me weak willed? I will make you pay for what you have done!"

Orm growled and replied as he leveled the trident at his brother.

"You will regret those words! I have the power now! And once I make sure that you are truly dead, all will be mine!"

Aquaman roared as he swam straight for Orm, intent on either strangling his sibling or skewering him in the gut with his new hand in retribution. But Orm knew that he was still armed with both his hands and the trident and was confident of his chances of success. However Aquaman was not going to make it easy as he fought on against his brother, The two Atlanteans traded blows back and forth until Aquaman managed to knock aside his brother with a kick that sent Orm to the ground, allowing Aquaman to stand up and looked over him.

"This battle is over Orm."

Orm smirked a bit and replied.

"You're right, and you lose!"

He turned, grabbed the trident and fired blast at the control panel and he replied.

"Now nothing can stop the generator! The surface world will finally get it's long overdue punishment, the one that you never gave it in your cowardice!"

Aquaman had no time to react as he was hit be another beam of energy from the trident as they were once more fighting with one another. Aquaman's new weapon proved to be useful as this allowed him to block the trident and attack with his right hand and injure Orm. However it was not going to be easy as Orm was able to attack better with both his hands. It was then that Orm was able to hit Aquaman with another blast to send him out of the cave but he was able to his harpoon to stop himself from falling deeper into the cave. Orm had a smile on his face as he planned to finish off his brother but before he could do anything, he was stopped by the Spartan as he used a combination of Flash and Sonic Grenades. The combined attacks were more than enough to force Orm back as the Spartan decided to cover for Aquaman to recover.

The Master Chief moved in and fired several shots at Orm as Aquaman began to climb up from where he had been knocked over by Orm's attack. The shots were not on lethal mode as he had to avoid getting Aquaman caught in the crossfire. The shots hit Orm on the chest and legs with none lethal hits, making the Atlantean scream in shock at the hits as he glared darkly at the one who shot him and leveled the Spartan.

"You filthy savage!"

John quickly moved out of the way using his reflexes and speed to avoid being hit by the energy of the trident as Cortana measured the energy generated by the weapon.

"That one had a very strong blast Chief, keep moving and avoid being hit."

"Right."

Orm was furious as fired more of the trident's energy at the Spartan and he shouted.

"Stand still you blasted coward!"

John however moved quickly and landed a fierce right hook into Orm's face, making him cry out in fury as he got up and tried to skewer the Spartan hard. John evaded that and moved back.

"How dare you strike the true king of Atlantis!"

John then replied.

"You are no king; you are a usurper and a traitor."

"I am a far better king than my brother!"

John evaded the attacks and pushed the Trident aside with his hand as it grazed his shields as he slammed an elbow into Orm's chest, sending the man back as he replied.

"You are nothing like him, your brother may have his faults, but he cares for the security and future of his people…you are nothing but a power hungry and crazed fool. All you care about is your foolish desires and not the future of your people. Your plan may have been effective, but your arrogance has doomed you."

Orm roared at that and fired several blasts at the Spartan and forced John to move back until the man fired a blast of energy at the roof. The weakening ice fell and surrounded the Spartan in a prison as Orm gloated at him.

"You're words are hollow surface scum…you and your entire kind are going to die!"

"You have not won your little war yet Orm."

"Oh really now? You think you can stop me?"

"Yes I can, but I made a promise to spare you."

Orm laughed and replied.

"And who could you have made such a foolish promise to?"

"I made that promise to the one who's about to kick your sorry ass."

Orm had no time to guess who that was as Aquaman came and hit him hard, showing that the Spartan had actually delayed Orm long enough for Aquaman to get back up from where he had been knocked out of before. The two brothers continued to fight one another as the Master Chief worked on freeing himself

…

Outside, the battle was still going on with Diana, Superman, and J'onn keeping the Atlantean Navy and the soldiers there away from helping Orm. Green Lantern and Batman were now moving in to the massive mountain of ice as the Dark Knight planned to try and disable the Generator before the damage being done to the North Poles could become irreversible. As soon as the two were in the clear after landing on the ground, they headed into the cave to get to the generator as well as help both Aquaman and the Spartan.

They only hoped that the two were able to deal with Orm and stop the Generator from melting the ice and destroying the rest of the world.

…

In the cavern…

"Chief!"

The Spartan broke free from the ice as Batman and Green Lantern arrived just as Orm and Aquaman took their fight outside of the cave area and moved to a nearby cave as well. The Master Chief shrugged of the ice and faced the other two as Lantern spoke to see what was the status of the Spartan as the Master Chief picked up his Sonic Assault Rifle that was not damaged by what happened to him earlier.

"You okay Chief?"

"I'll live Gunny, Aquaman's got his brother, that reactor is our concern before it does it work."

Batman looked at the control panel and spoke.

"The panel is totaled; the only possible option is I'll have to go inside and shut it down from the inside itself."

Lantern was surprised by that and made that clear as well.

"You're actually going into that thing?"

"Can your ring protect me?"

"We're about to find out."

John then replied.

"I'll make sure Orm does not get any funny ideas and cover Stewart so he can focus all of his power to protect you in that Generator."

"That is going to be helpful, let's get this done fast."

Stewart nodded as he covered Batman in his ring's energy and Batman soon entered the device to get the device offline. Orm turned after managing to push Aquaman back, and when he saw the three tampering the generator, he realized that his plans were about to fail. That was more than enough to stop him cold and he shouted as he fired a blast from the trident.

"NO! LEAVE THAT ALONE!"

His shot however was blocked by the Master Chief as he took out a Deployable Cover from his rucksack. The specially enhanced plasma shield kicked in and blocked the shot, much to Orm's fury as he tried to fire again. But it was here that Aquaman came in and knocked him out again and managed to disarm him of the trident.

This made Orm even more angry as he took out his knife and managed to wound Aquaman and he shouted as he began to slash at his brother, unaware that the melting of the ice around him had weakened the floor that he was now on as he fought with his brother.

"You do not deserve to wear the crown or the throne you weak and spineless coward!"

That was when the floor broke down and he fell, managing to grab the edge and looked down and saw yawing pit beneath him. In that moment, he knew that he was now in peril as Aquaman stood up and looked at him. He begged to be saved at this point as he tried to reach out for his brother as his strength was beginning to fade due to his battle with his brother.

"Brother! Help me!"

Aquaman looked at him and his wound from before, he reached out his hand, but not to get his brother as Orm looked on in shock, he took the trident and spoke.

"I believe that this is mine."

Orm cried out as he fell down into the dark pit as Aquaman looked on and headed off to see if the generator was taken out.

…

Batman, Green Lantern, and the Spartan were finally able to get the generator down as the dark Knight was able to stop it and begin the cool-down of the Generator. Green Lantern was able to speak at this as the generator was powering down.

"It's shutting down, you did it!"

Batman shook his head as he got out and landing on the floor and Lantern retracted his energy.

"No, we did it."

Aquaman arrived and while he remained calm he was happy as well.

"Then the threat is over."

"NO!"

The four of them turned and they saw something that surprised even Aquaman.

Orm was bleeding but was still alive; he apparently had managed to get a grip and began to climb up. He was now mad with rage as he saw that all that he had done was now all for nothing as he took out a powerful explosive device and armed it. He glared with absolute hate at his brother and decided to end it all as he shouted at him and the other surface dwellers who had foiled his plans.

"ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!"

The Spartan however was there and took out his Sonic Assault Rifle and changed the power setting to lethal and spoke before firing.

"You first."

The Sonic rounds that came out from the weapon hit the target, not Orm himself but the device he had. The mad traitor turned to see the device get hit, he rage replaced with horror as he realized just what was about to happen. He only had enough time to scream as the device went off. The others saw the explosion and they rushed there, and they saw Orm falling down screaming for the last time as a large sheet of ice followed him. All they heard next was a resounding crash in the ice as the cave began to fall about. Aquaman turned to face the Spartan and spoke calmly to the man.

"You did well enough."

The Spartan shrugged as they moved out and Aquaman moved to get control of the Atlantean Navy that was still resisting the other members of the Justice League. Once they knew that he had returned and was now the wielder of the trident and Orm was dead, then the traitors knew that their actions were going to be judged. And if there were those who were still loyal to him, then they should obey their rightful king well enough.

Superman, Wonder Woman, and J'onn, saw the results of the battle and saw that their actions had indeed brought the whole situation to a close. Now the cleanup was going to be fully under way.

…

In the throne room…

Aquaman looked at Brak and the soldiers who had followed the lead of his traitorous brother, after getting word that the generator had been defused by Batman with the aid of Lantern, as well as the death of Orm, they had surrendered. And now the spineless coward who once had the support of the military was now trembling like a worm before him. Next to him was Mera and their son as well as the Justice League.

Brak and his followers were now being guarded by the soldiers who had proven themselves faithful and loyal to Aquaman and his family and already they had their weapons at Brak.

The man begged with the excuse that they had not been aware of Orm's betrayal and that they were never truly on his side. This carried on much to Aquaman's disgust as he could not stand the sight of it all. He recalled just how aggressive Brak had been when it came to going to war against the surface world, and that coupled with his willingness to side with Orm and the fact that it was Brak who personally chained him on the rock face. The man did not even have the spine to stand true to his decision, he would have given the man some shred of respect for standing true to his convictions in siding with Orm, but this sniveling display was something that he did not want to see.

"Enough sniveling from you Brak, I expected you to have continued to stand with what you have done, not act like an insult to the name of a General! You're excuses are hollow and I will not listen to them anymore."

"My king…"

"Do not presume to call me that Brak, you willingly turned your back on me and my family to side with my brother, and after he was dealt with, you think that I will show mercy to you? By all rights I should have you and all of your men executed for your actions!"

That cowed the man as well as his followers as Aquaman glared darkly at them and after a moment or so, the blonde Atlantean spoke once more.

"But I will do something far different, I shall have you exiled to the deepest and darkest recesses of our best prison without any hope of escape! You and those who follow you Brak are now stripped of your ranks and positions and are now no longer servants of Atlantis."

Brak paled and before he could speak, Aquaman spoke seriously to him.

"You should consider yourself lucky that I have given you only a prison sentence Brak for you get to live a bit longer until you understand just how high a price you have to pay for this treachery that you did willingly. Take them all away!"

Anything Brak or his men tried to say was drowned out as they were taken away by those loyal to Aquaman. The blonde king knew that he was going to have to deal with a lot of issues that had yet to be finished. There was also the matter of removing those who were still loyal to Brak and Orm in the ranks of the military from those who were loyal to the throne. But now he had to talk to the Spartan as he wanted to know just what was it that the Spartan was saying that what happened to the surface world would affect his people as well.

"Spartan, I believe that now is the right time for that discussion."

John nodded.

"Fair enough, my friend has begun to compile the information as well as the scenarios."

"Friend?"

John placed his left hand forward, palm up and then a glowing figure appeared and leaped off the hands of the Spartan before both Mera and Aquaman. The figure grew into a full female figure as Cortana was wearing more conservative clothing which comprised of a simple long sleeved shirt and long pants with shoes. She looked at the two Atlanteans and spoke to them in a calm voice.

"I am the one the Chief spoke of, I am Cortana, a Smart A.I, I will show you the possible outcomes that I have worked on pertaining to the results of that device being operational as well as the wars that would soon follow. You can of course take the results and test them in your people's own computers and see for yourself just what the results might be."

…

Later…

Aquaman looked at the scenarios that had been provided to him by Cortana and John and he was not the least bit pleased by what he had seen. The news of what could have happened had the Thermal Generator done it's work was very disturbing to him, he had hoped in the past that this would have been enough to defeat the surface dwellers and keep his people safe, but he had no idea of the possible results. And how those results would eventually come back to haunt his people. One such scenario that was troubling was the destruction of the balance of the planet's temperature that could have resulted in a heavily accelerated rate of global warming and the spread of highly acidic rain that could poison the oceans as well as the land, rendering the lands lifeless and the seas too acidic to support almost all sea life and heat the water to such a temperature that it would have been too dangerous for his own people to survive in. And without the plants and animals they lived on, their people would have starved and eventually would have died out.

This was but one of many other scenarios that was shown to him and as soon as it was over, he took the files given by Cortana in a disc as he planned to see if they were truly possible when tested by the computers of his people. Once that was all, he moved to a balcony and looked over the city and thought about just how close it's people had been dragged into a war that could have denied his people any chance of a peaceful future.

"It seems that I have a lot to make up for and to prove myself to my people. It was my blind fears that the surface was the only enemy of my people, that I failed to see that not all my enemies were on the surface and they were the ones I should have feared the most. And it has cost me dearly."

Lantern then replied to that as he stood next to the king.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, we all may have been misjudging others as well."

Batman then spoke as well

"I remember an old bit of advice that stated this much. 'Fear is natural, but never allow fear to blind you, lest you miss the pit in the floor."

Aquaman nodded at that and replied

"All I have ever wanted is peace and security for my people and my home city."

Superman then replied to that.

" After all that happened here today, that is not be an easy path."

Aquaman turned to look his wife and son and smiled a bit."

"Maybe, but some sacrifices are worth it."

The Master Chief then replied to that.

"To defend your people and your home is never meant to be easy and sacrifices have to at times be made no matter how painful. But doing so to ensure peace that all can enjoy and feel free in that peace is what makes a good king, doesn't it?"

Aquaman nodded at that.

"It does indeed Spartan, it does indeed."

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

There, at least this story arc is now fully under wraps and I can work up on another chapter. This should end the Enemy Below Arc and in hopefully an effective fashion. It's not too different and while I have no doubt that I will get some complaints on why I did not make some changes to the story, I am used to it right about now.

If there are any errors, then make sure to point it all out to me and I will try to fix those very same errors.

Now on this story we have some alterations with Orm being taken out permanently, so unlike in the series, he is dead, but he was not killed by the Master Chief directly, but by his very own explosive so he is NOT the first villain kill that John will have under his belt.

And the same could be said for Brak since as much as I would have LOVED to have John execute that traitorous coward, he is still a subject of Aquaman and as king, he deserves the right to deal with Brak himself. And as you can see, Brak and those who joined the rebellion are not going to get off easy in this case as they had done in the series. As for Aquaman, he will not completely lose his distrust for the people on the surface, but he is a lot wiser this time around and truth of the matter is, he has found another person worth his respect.

Will this have an affect in the future between the Master Chief and Aquaman? Well you will have to wait and see now won't you?

…

On the next chapter, we will have a more of a bonding episode where the Spartan gets to mingle but this time not with Diana but with the other members of the League. Now I might get some questions as to why, and my answer to them is that in order for John to be more integrated into the League, he has to socialize with them for a while and get to know them on a more personal level. This might seem weird to some fans of the Spartan, but to me it will be key in the coming arcs as John's respective relationships with the League will be very useful and valuable.

In this case, we will have John and in turn Cortana go join Superman as he goes to being Clark Kent and being with his adopted parents. You can bet that this meeting will allow John to see just where Superman got his values and morals which can make his friendship with the Kryptonian a lot more solid this time around. Naturally Clark will tell his parents just who John is and naturally that will include the…tragic aspects of John's life.

You can bet that Martha and Jonathan are going to be less than happy with the news on how John spent his youth, and make that clear to the Spartan. Though they will not be too vocal about it as they knew that John lived that life willingly and they know now that he became a better man because of it as well as a hero of his own universe.

And in turn, John will get to sample a life of peace for a day or so, and this might even give him an idea of what his life would have been like had he not been taken into the Spartan II Program. Kara will be around and when she meets John without the Armor, things should become rather interesting.

…

On the second chapter, which will be an arc before we go to dealing with the Injustice Gang, we will bring back an old…acquaintance of Superman…who has set her sights not on the Man of Steel…but you know who.

Here's an idea to who this person is…

…

John could not help but feel flabbergasted at what he was hearing as he looked at his opponent and he spoke to the foe in question.

"Hold it. Let me see if I heard you right. You want to fight me…so you can determine if I am worthy of marrying you?"

"Yes, I extended that same courtesy to Superman , and now I do the same for you Spartan. You might not be the same as Superman, but he seems to see you as a powerful ally, so you must be very capable a fighter."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we fight either way, the first option however makes it official, I'd rather have a willing opponent than a reluctant one. And besides, unlike last time, I will make sure not to have anyone uninvolved in the area. This is between two warriors, nothing more."

…

Can you guess who?

Find out after the next chapter, and hold on, this is going to throw John off the loop for sure!


	12. Chapter 12

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: Yet again I state for all who were reading this. I hold no ownership over DC or Bungie.

Chapter 8

Part 1

Grass Roots…

( ): Thoughts

…

In the Watch Tower…

It had been a day and a half after the whole incident with Aquaman and the nuclear material and the League were eager to finally get some time off. At the moment the others were getting back into the Tower and hoping to finally get some much needed rest. Flash and Hawkgirl arrived and when informed of what had happened, they were surprised at this, even Flash was sad he missed the whole thing and he would have been able to help.

But right now, it seemed that things were becoming peaceful, even the criminals in Gotham City were going silent, and while that worried Batman, he was assured by his allies there that things had become calm. So despite his chagrin over the situation, it seemed that he was going to have to take a break.

Still, the idea of taking a break was foreign to Batman and the others could sense that, especially John and Cortana as the A.I spoke to him in private.

"I swear that Batman needs to get a break every now and then. I can't fault his work ethic, but I swear if he keeps staying like that, he's going to have an identity crisis."

"It's his decision Cortana, though you do have a point, even we do take some time to relax."

"Yeah, speaking of which, crime's been rather silent back in the Big Apple so what's on your plan today?"

John thought it over and began to think about his previous plan to share some UNSC technology to the public as well as to the League. The technology of the UNSC and that of the Forerunners as well as the Covenant which did not touch on the military could be helpful. Plus it would supplement the income he needed as well. The only technology had no interest in sharing was military hardware since the land thing he wanted was to share technology that could be easily used for war.

"I think it's time we talk about us showing some technology to be used by the League and the people."

"I was wondering when we were going to touch on that subject, so I have no doubt that we are going to be sharing some of the basic technology and the non-military kind as well?"

"Yes, we'll need to make sure that if we are going to do this, we give on the technology that will be considered as helpful to the people. I may have respect for those in authority, but considering what I have seen, better to be a bit paranoid than dead."

Cortana nodded at that and decided that it would be best that they got in a conversation with two of the League who could help.

…

Later in a conference room…

Batman and Superman looked over the data being shown to them concerning the products that John and Cortana decided to share with the public. And already the two of them could see the potential for the products in question. None of them were used in the full military sense but the technology alone was something that could not be ignored by anyone as the uses were purely for the benefit of mankind.

Batman was intrigued by the information and Superman was quick to see the overall benefits the technology could have for the people of Earth. The two heroes and friends were smart in their own fashion and the technology of the UNSC in these terms in their eyes would be worth it all. The billionaire crime fighter read the data carefully and could not help but be impressed at what he was looking at as the technology was impressive and he could see easily how these had helped aid the UNSC in their darkest hours. Superman himself was impressed as he compared the technology to what he had learned and had seen as well. To think that these were considered as common place technology in the UNSC was impressive as the technology was very much a revolution in itself.

As soon as they were done, Batman looked at John and Cortana as the Spartan removed his helmet and the A.I was in her human sized form and wearing clothes once more. He then spoke to the two in an effort to discuss what they had in mind for the technology that they were giving to be distributed.

"So these are the technologies you're willing to give? How do you plan to have them distributed?"

"Through Wayne Tech, we give the technology to Bruce Wayne and he will be able to have the technology tested by the brightest minds and the most trusted ones as well. Of course, that depends if you are willing to do that Mr. Wayne."

Bruce raised his eyebrow a bit but was not too surprised by the words, he had no doubt that the Master Chief and Cortana had already figured out his real identity as they were very capable. But he had to admit that he was hoping to keep that a secret, but since he already knew the Spartan's own history, then it should be fair that he show his own identity to the Spartan.

"I will, though we still need to talk about the royalties that will be involved, if the technologies you are handing are proven to be highly effective, and I have no doubt that they will. Then you stand to earn a very large amount of money out of it. That could be both a good thing and a bad thing, depending on several key instances."

John nodded at that and they decided to take the time to discuss the details further so that they would be assured that they had all the bases covered before making the move to distribute the technologies that Cortana and he had selected. Superman also spoke in turn on his opinion on the idea of the Spartan trading the technologies.

"These technologies will certainly garner a lot of interest indeed so it would be best that it gets a lot of media exposure, that way it can be easier to the public to understand and access. It would also help if the media company has a lot of clout with the public."

Bruce nodded as well and replied.

"I can bet that the Daily Planet is a good place to start and you can bet that both Lois AND Clark would love to cover the exclusives too."

Superman gave a slight smirk at that and John not help but nod a bit, it was certainly paying off in having allies in the hero community since Bruce had a very respectable company that had a solid reputation and Clark being part of a well respected newspaper. The three discussed it a bit more to iron out the last details and also make sure that all had been properly prepared so the sudden influx of technology was not going to raise any suspicions until it was revealed that these were the technologies promised by the Master Chief to the people of the world community.

…

Two months later…

It was not long before the technology given by the Spartan was now having an effect in the world. In a special broadcast hosted in the World Assembly itself, the Spartan who wore his full armor, Superman in his hero identity, and Batman in his public identity of Bruce Wayne, the technologies were finally revealed to the work along with all the critical support data that would show that the technologies had been tested well with Clark himself giving the reports alongside Lois.

The first technology that was shown to the global public was the Sterile Field Generator; this device was one of the most trusted devices used by the UNSC. It was able to emit a contained and focused field of radiation that was able to kill any bacteria yet not have a negative effect on the patient. This technology was tested extensively by the scientists in Wayne Tech and they were very much in support of the technology. The fact that it was not only effective and safe, but highly portable meant that anyone could carry the device to handle any first aid situation and help save lives more effectively.

The second technology was the Bone Knitting Polymer that was used by the UNSC in both civilian and military houses to treat bone injuries. The substance was easy enough to inject through a cauterized incision which can still be done in the field and then could help in the repair of any broken bones. The fact that the polymer had no negative effects on the human body as well as the blood and tissues meant that combined with standard casts that were used, the polymer could easily assure the increased rate of healing for all involved with heavy bone damage.

The third was Dermacortic Steroids, this particular drug was used by the UNSC to help tissue regeneration and also help ensure that there would be less dependence on skin grafting when concerning burn injuries. This was used extensively in the UNSC during the Insurrection and had achieved critical value usage during the Covenant war to help those lucky enough to survive the fatal injuries associated with Plasma burns. This would ensure that those suffering first to third degree burns would be properly treated and be much closer to a full and save recovery from the injuries.

The fourth technology was the older but now improved Biofoam. Batman himself was impressed by the substance as it was a remarkable technology that ensured that if there was a critical situation where medical support was not able to arrive in time, this would help greatly. Cortana used her data as well as that from Wayne Tech that could be used to improve on the older formula to make it last much longer and be more effective in the chosen usage of it. It would be something that can truly help many people in whatever situation that they would find themselves in when medical personnel were not present and they were far from a hospital.

The fifth technology was the use of what was called Narcolytic Metabolase, this special enzyme had the ability to purge any analgesic agents in the person's blood stream which would wake them up. This was used in the UNSC for both medical purposes and prisoner capture and recovery and this version had been conditioned by both the scientists in Wayne Tech and by Cortana to also work on a number of well known illegal drugs to purge the drugs and toxins from a person's system.

The sixth technology was a special drug known as Polypseudomorphine, which was proven to be a very effective sedative and yet not as addictive as the original substance that it was based on. Used by the UNSC to help sedate wounded soldiers for treatment, it was also used as a form of weapon by ONI to capture personnel from the enemy, though it was only on human foes since the Covenant were aliens and the UNSC had no idea how the drug would have reacted to their biology. This drug was also something of great interest to Bruce Wayne as he could find it useful both as a healing agent and as a weapon should he need to take someone alive without resorting to force.

And the seventh technology was the special engine used by the UNSC in all vehicles for land, sea, and airborne operations. This engine used pure Hydrogen and was more than able to work using fresh water, brackish water, and salt water. One such engine had a range of at least 490 miles before it needed to be refueled with it's fuel capacity topping at 12 liters. The emissions of any gas harmful to the environment was recorded with the astonishing mark of zero percent, meaning that the engine created no harmful emissions and as such was able to be considered at the ultimate green technology engine.

This was further balanced by the fact that the Spartan also allowed access to a number of files that pertained to a number of approved UNSC medical treatments and some other useful data. The most telling was the medical cures for a number of serious medical ailments that existed in the world today.

…

The one thing that John and Cortana had talked about with Superman and Batman about in the tower was also made public. The media as well as the government representatives were surprised that the Master Chief had asked for only a small percentage of the royalties of such technology, a small 5 percent. That was still very high as it was around the range of the hundreds of thousands compared to the tens of millions that the technologies were worth. They were even more surprised when John replied that the remaining 95 percent of the earnings of the distributed UNSC technology would be given to charity and human rights organizations to help them with their works.

That kind of action was more than enough to endear the Spartan with the public as many praised his willingness to contribute such amounts of money for aid and relief efforts for the needy and the less fortunate. There naturally were those who would try to question the nobility of such an action but their complaints and theories were not well received by many as the people had to give the Spartan even more support for his actions. Even more so by the medical community who were shocked that the UNSC had actually developed cures for all kinds of cancer that it was considered an archaic disease and easily treatable.

The reason was that despite medical advances in this reality, cures for cancer were hard to find even though they could contain and limit it. But the UNSC's medical documents and materials had wiped out cancer as a threat to life. Cures for all the known types of cancer sounded too good to be true but here was the evidence that the humans in the Spartan's reality had conquered it, and it was something that many praised well. This added even more support for the Spartan's efforts and made it harder for naysayers to have ammunition to throw at him. And the fact that Wayne Tech had confirmed the information and considered it viable added further weight to the whole situation that was before the people in the World Assembly.

Naturally some of the military officials wondered if the new engine technology could be made for more military grade machines. But John and Cortana were well aware of that and decided to reply that the engines were only good for civilian vehicles and as such, were not the kind that should be used in military vehicles as well as pointing out that altering the designs could ruin the results itself.

There were many questions pertaining to the technologies, namely in the case of the hydrogen fueled engine and John had to answer those questions. The discovery that the UNSC no longer used any and all types of fossil fuels and relied on cold fusion and engines that could be fueled by all three types of water through hydrogen was a real shocker. Most people who were part or were supporters of those who were in the oil industry were not too happy with the news and had wanted the engines tested to their limits. John, Cortana, Clark, and Bruce had expected that to happen as those in the oil industry would have become bankrupt at the thought of this technology being wide spread and wanted to see if this was a sham and something that was merely for show.

He then explained that the UNSC also no longer used fossil fuels in their reactors and used not just Hydrogen reactors but solar and wind power plants as well with fossil fueled vehicles and machines becoming obsolete in a matter of 400 years with hydrogen becoming the prime fuel source for all vehicles. They only used nuclear fuel when it came to running their ships that went on interstellar travel and as such, the UNSC did not have too many environmental issues with their technology. He also replied that if time was available and resources were present, he would have plans made for the creation of Hydrogen powered reactors, which was also considered the standard for UNSC power production.

This added more fuel to the speculation and once it was over, John and Bruce had to deal with being mobbed by the press. It was not something that John enjoyed all that much since he was the kind of man who valued privacy and solitude but thankfully Bruce helped in answering many questions but allowed Clark, and Lois to ask their questions when the time came and John hoped that this was going to help not just the League but also the people in this reality.

…

In the Watch Tower…

The Spartan looked at Superman as he and the other League members were very surprised at the Man of Steel's announcement, and Cortana was the one who spoke it out to the others to hear.

"You want to invite the Chief to see your parents?"

Superman nodded.

"I talked with them about it and truth be told, they were somewhat curious about you since I told them what I know about you."

John raised an eyebrow at that and replied.

"Are you sure that was wise?"

"I do, I've held no secrets from my parents and they are not going to tell just anyone what they know. Besides that, I get the feeling that being out and around other people apart from us and the people of New York can be good for you. It's not too serious a request and you can always say no to it."

John thought it over and Diana gave her own input.

"I think it would be a good idea, being able to see other places and meet other people is a good thing for anyone. It's even more so now that we don't have many threats to deal with. Some down time would do us a good deal of help."

Flash agreed.

"Yeah, I agree with Diana on this one, you don't want to burn yourself out too much, and going back to be somewhere nice is a great way to unwind, I always visit my family when I don't have any commitments. And let me tell you, seeing them reminds me even more of why I do the things I do to keep my city safe."

John thought about it even more as he recalled how he used to remind himself of his duty and why he did what he did as a Spartan and it helped him a great deal in dealing with many things. His mother figure Dr. Halsey, his father figure Chief Mendez, the other Spartans he grew up with, and many others reminded him of why he was fighting. But here, he only had Cortana and the League to call his friends and allies, and in some respects, family, so he had to at least have something to remind him of why he fought.

Besides, Cortana had always told him to see the world and relax as well as be used to being in a civilian life if it ever came to pass that they got back home and found that they did not have to fight anymore. His war with the Covenant and the Flood was over and here in this reality, things were different, they had averted a major war before things got out of hand, and unlike the Prophets, Aquaman was reasonable.

And if Superman's parents accepted their son despite him being an alien and having powers above mortal men, then they should be a lot more tolerant of him.

He nodded at that point.

"All right then, I'll go with you Superman."

Clark smiled a bit as this could help his fellow League member a lot, and Flash then replied with a grin.

"That's good to hear, if you want, and you got the free time, you and Cortana can crash in central City with me as well, I am going to show you two around and you get to rest a bit as well. Plus it will be a good thing for you to see what life is like outside of New York, Central might not be like the Big Apple, but it's got it's moments and it's very own surprises as well."

Cortana laughed a bit and replied.

"All right then, just don't get any funny ideas and take pictures of me Flash, I don't want to even guess what the results would be if those pictures circulated around the net."

Flash nodded in agreement.

"You have my word Cortana."

"I sure hope so, because if I do find out about it, I am going to be rather cross, and the last person to cross me barely made it out of my grasp."

…

It was not long before John met up with Superman as the two were boarding one of the Javelins to fly to Smallville and when they would get to a place far away from the population centers, they would make their way to the Kent residence. Since Clark lost his car during one of his battles with the regular kinds of criminal, namely the corrupt detective who had even tried to kill Lois once, they would have to go on foot as it were though the two of them decided to allow Clark to carry John along and he would fly at a lower speed so as not to harm John. Normally he would have gotten his car replaced but with everything that happened, and the use of the Watch Tower's teleporter systems, Clark decided not to buy one for a while.

Cortana was happy enough and before they would leave, John had his base/shop back in New York locked down for the week. He did make sure to leave a notice that he was going out for a while to take a Sabbatical and would be back soon to restart business in his place's internet ad. Diana also replied that she would make sure to keep New York safe while he was away and she was also going to make sure to rest every now and then and would call him if things would get out of hand.

John packed only simple clothes and carried only a small recorder, and in agreement with Superman, he was not wearing his MJOLNIR or carrying any weapons of any kind. That normally would have been difficult for John as he felt positively naked without his MJOLNIR on him, and not having a weapon in hand did not feel right. Even when in civilian disguise, he felt uncomfortable and as such, it had taken a lot of effort for him to get used to it when he settled in New York. But his time there and his socializing with people made him a bit more relaxed in that regard and the League were a lot more understanding about the whole thing.

As soon as the Javelin was in Smallville at the time of mid morning and landed in a valley not too far from the large town itself, the two left it and the Javelin took off and headed back to the Watch Tower with Cortana piloting it as well. As Clark looked around he took in a breath of fresh air and smiled warmly at what he was able to smell and spoke out while wearing his normal clothes.

"Ah…the smell of clean grass, wheat, crops, and fresh air. It's been a while since I got the chance to visit my old place."

"I can see that."

The Kryptonian smiled at his companion and they walked towards the road, and they were lucky that they were not encountering any problems. As John looked about, he had to admit that the place certainly had a good atmosphere about it and certainly reminded him of the more 'natural' colonies he had been to…though many of them now were lost to the Covenant. John sighed mentally and reminded himself not to dwell on it and follow the disguised man of Steel who was wearing a pair of simple jeans, a buttoned long sleeved shirt with rolled sleeves and his own back pack filled with his clothes.

It was not long before they arrived at a nearby bus stop and soon they boarded a bus heading for Smallville itself. John decided to let Clark be the one to guide him about in this place as he knew it better.

…

In Smallville…

As they got off the second bus, the two decided to walk the rest of the way to the house of Clark's human family. The Kryptonian looked a lot better now as he walked down the very familiar road to where his family lived and decided to point out some of the other sights of the countryside.

The Spartan listened well as they had seen Clark's old home town and even paid a visit to the school that Clark studied in as a kid. And they also visited the gas station where Clark told John about how he had started his career as a hero saving a family from a disaster in that same gas station. It had been years and the place had been rebuilt since then but Clark remembered it vividly.

As soon as they were near the house, an elderly couple appeared from the inside of the house and shouted their greetings.

"Clark!"

Superman smiled and also went to his parents and made sure hug them carefully as he knew of his own strength and how deadly it would be if not controlled properly.

John looked at both Martha and Jonathan Kent as they hugged their adopted son and he had to admit that the image was rather surprising to say the very least. He had seen Superman in action many times now and yet here he was acting like a regular man with family. Without the cape and the clothing that showed that he was Superman, he did look like he would easily fit in like a farmer or a newspaper editor. And though it being a long time, he could easily see how some people would have also thought that Superman in his civilian disguise was an intelligent but harmless man that could be easily intimidated.

As the two looked at the Spartan, John noticed that they were a bit hesitant to approach him and that was a bit surprising to him. He knew that it would be a normal reaction if people saw him in his MJOLNIR, but he did not have it on and he wondered why they were a bit hesitant. Until he realized that since he had spent a large amount of time in the armor, he would have appeared to be really pale and odd looking. But it was not long before the two came to him and smiled in greeting, with Martha being the first to speak.

"Good to finally meet you, Clark's told us all of what he could tell about you."

John looked at the offered hand and decided to shake it though he made sure not to use his full strength and keep his abilities under control. While his strength was not in the very same league as Superman's it was more than enough to injure and cripple so he had to give the Kryptonian credit for being able to control his strength the way he did. There was also something about Martha that seemed to but the Spartan at ease and also something that told him to show the woman a decorum of respect.

"Good to meet you as well Ma'am. I don't want to sound overtly curious, but what exactly was it that your son told you concerning me?"

Martha and Jonathan looked at one another and Jonathan replied.

"Clark told us everything, and I have to admit that we're not too thrilled that you had to live that kind of life for so long. But from what we have seen and what our son has told us, you are a good man at heart, and since I doubt that we were ever part of your world, we can't exactly condemn you for it."

John nodded as he looked at the elderly man and saw a good deal of moral character, stubbornness, practicality, strength, and kindness there in the man's face and demeanor. All of which in his mind was very respectable. He could easily see that Jonathan had a good deal of influence over his adopted son and in a very good way as well and as such, he had to show a good deal of respect to the man even if he was not in the military.

"It's not a problem sir, I am actually still very surprised that your son actually invited me to this place and I will admit that I have never been to a farm in my life."

The two smiled at that and decided to allow their guest to come into their home while Clark was more than willing to talk about what had been happening both in Metropolis and the League as well. It was not long before John was escorted by the couple to a spare room that they had built on the off chance that their son brought guests. And judging by the reinforced frame of the bed, table, chairs, cabinet and closet, he could wager a guess that some of their son's guests were not exactly the regular human type. Still the room was quite cozy and comfortable, a far cry from the comfortable yet Spartan military conditions of the rooms he had slept in when he was still a young Spartan trainee.

He placed down his bag filled with clothes for the week's stay with the Kents and decided to get himself cleaned up, which was thankfully possible with the presence of a bath-room as well. He wagered a guess that Clark sent a portion of the money he had earned as a reporter from Metropolis to his folks, yet another admirable trait in Superman, no doubt given to him by his parents growing up.

Clark came in and spoke to him at that point.

"How is the room?"

John looked at it and replied honestly.

"Not too bad, it's clean, comfortable, compared to how things were in my universe, this is a luxury."

Clark nodded at that and replied.

"I suppose it would be, by the way, my cousin Kara would be coming in tomorrow afternoon, she does not know you are here yet though so this should be interesting. You also know that she is Supergirl right?"

"Yes I do, kind of hard to imagine since you two don't exactly look alike."

Clark laughed a bit at that as he had to admit that he and Kara did not look alike in the least though he cared little for that. Kara was the closest thing to a relative from Krypton he had, even though she was not a Kryptonian by birth. Still it was good to have her nearby and also it helped to him that she was around, after all, it had been with her help and others that he was finally able to free himself from Darkseid's control. And for that he was eternally grateful to her which was why he hoped that she would soon grow out of her own shell and become a hero of her own right and strength.

"I suppose that would be true, anyway, since we came here in time for lunch, I think we should go and get ready for it, I will say this much though, my mother's cooking can be very interesting."

…

In the Dining area…

There was one thing that John had to admit without any trouble or doubts, and that was that Martha Kent was a very good cook, living up to what her adopted son had told him before they had gone to join the family in lunch. The elderly woman was very keen on showing a good deal of hospitality and making some good meals was her way of doing things. He had been able to eat a number of dishes and he had to speak to Martha about it as he was reaching his limit, but in a very good way as he had never eaten this good before.

"I think I should stop Ms. Kent, if I keep eating all of this food, I think I might actually get fat."

Jonathan laughed at that and replied.

"She can really do that with her cooking John. How else do you think I got this spare tire on me?"

Martha laughed a bit and playfully punched her husband's arm.

"I never hear you complain about my cooking."

"And you never will."

The sight of the loving couple was nice to the Spartan and he could easily see just how positive an influence they had on their adopted son, and he could see how Clark laughed a bit along with his parents. This made him see just where the Kryptonian got his morals and ethics which was why he was usually called the 'Big Blue Boy Scout', both in jest and insult. Martha then spoke to John as well as she wanted to get his opinion on her own cooking.

"So how do you find my cooking anyway John?"

The Spartan then replied.

"It's a lot better than most, having a good meal is a rare occurrence for me since I usually only get hot meals in base and have to live on MREs most of the time. I do cook, but only rarely."

Martha nodded and then had an idea.

"You want me to show you how to cook? I don't mind spending some time teaching others how to cook so this should be interesting."

That startled John a bit as this was the first time he had ever been asked something like that in his life and he had no idea how to respond. But he also knew that it was an honest offer by Martha Kent and as such was considered as something of a gift that should not be turned down without good reason. Besides, this would actually be helpful to him in the long run as Cortana would put it and with that in mind, he replied.

"Very well, I will do what I can to learn."

Martha smiled warmly at that and replied.

"All right then, now I will take care of the dishes and as soon as we get you fully settled here in our home, we'll begin teaching you how to cook today and first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes Ms. Kent"

Clark offered to help his adopted mother in doing the dishes and she was more than happy for the help, while John busied himself by going out to help Jonathan handle the regular chores that were needed to be done in the farm. The elderly Kent was more than willing to accept the help and this would help him get used to working with one of his son's fellow heroes. The lifting of the bales was not so bad and Jonathan was able to help coordinate the whole affair.

In that time, Jonathan told the Master Chief about how he and Martha found Clark or those years ago and how they raised him. He even admitted with a few laughs how hard it was to surprise their adopted son when it came to Christmas and his birthdays since he could see through the wrappings. And John had to admit that he found the whole image of it being rather humorous.

"Of course we finally figured out that we had to line the presents with lead foil to keep him from seeing the gifts."

"That must have been hard."

"Yes it was, I honestly was not sure about adopting him at first, but Clark proved to be a very good man and someone I loved dearly. It was hard to live with the situation after the whole affair with maniac, but at least Clark was freed. It tore at our hearts, Martha and me when we saw him and knew he was being controlled. And even if Martha and I warned him not to tire himself out, Clark worked hard to repair his reputation."

"I see…"

"But at least in this League, he doesn't have to do everything himself, and for that I am happy. Anyway, we should get this done soon, you have some lessons to attend right?"

"Yes sir."

As soon as they were done, John headed back to the house and true to her word, Martha began to work on teaching the Spartan how to properly cook food. It was a bit different than what he was used to, but Martha was very patient and his own desire to succeed was enough to make the Spartan work hard and make sure that he did a good job of cooking the food.

Once it was dinner time, he was treated to another round of Martha's cooking and he was more than happy to try out the food himself and enjoy it as well. Once dinner was done, he took his turn to work with Martha allowing Clark to spend time with his adopted father. It was here that John was able to get along with Martha who also told him of her time raising Clark after they legally adopted him. She also spoke of the time when they revealed the pod that they had found him in and how he learned of his real origins.

"I was utterly worried when he activated that device, and when he snapped at the discovery I was very surprised. When we ran out to try and find him I was worried sick and hoped that he would be all right, but thankfully he came back and things began to work out. When he entered the Daily Planet and he then became Superman, I was happy that he finally found something to use his powers for."

"I see, you both have a good influence on him."

Martha smiled warmly at that.

"Yes we did, we really did, and I am pleased that he is not alone in keeping the world safe. It was not easy having to listen to some people bad mouth him when he started out and even more so with that whole invasion thing. And I was even more worried when he worked so hard to the point he lost a lot of his energy trying to make amends. I just hope that all of it was finally worth it."

"I have no doubt it was Ms. Kent."

…

The Spartan soon managed to get some rest and so did Clark, there had been a lot of things that happened since coming here and it was worth it. The next day, the Spartan woke up early and began to train himself since despite being in civilian disguise, there was no way that he was going to lose his edge since he would not know when he would need the training. The training was not too intense and as soon as morning came, he went back into the house and was greeted by Clark.

They soon got the chance to have breakfast and when it was over, both he and Clark decided to help out in the farm and between the two of them, the more physical chores were done in a faster time. This was something that Jonathan was thankful for. Martha herself decided to get busy and go for some groceries for the rest of the day, Clark volunteered to accompany his adopted mother while John decided to help Jonathan in fixing the equipment around the farm. Jonathan had that old tractor that always gave him a headache and the same could said for the plow as it had a bent blade and his grass cutter was in need of repairs. The Spartan was more than willing to help out with that and after a while the devices were working all right. Jonathan commented that he would make one heck of a mechanic and John merely shrugged at it, they were soon done with the tractor it was the last one as Clark and Martha arrived home from the shopping.

They each had lunch and the two heroes decided to handle the dishes this time around. And once they were finished with that part, they decided to rest. Martha decided to let them go ahead and take some time off and enjoy the sights of the place. Both of them agreed and Clark decided to show the Spartan the places that he had been to and where he had discovered the ability he had to fly about as well as run very fast.

It was not long before the two heroes finally arrived over a high hill that overlooked most of the area of Smallville. The sight of everything began to remind the Spartan of his previous life before he was taken into the Spartan II Program. And he also thought about Reach as well as that had the planet been like before the whole war started and this in turn made him remember his own childhood as he thought about who he was then and what he is now. Clark looked at the Spartan who was currently dressed in normal clothes and was looking at the valley below and the Kryptonian spoke to him.

"Deep in thought?"

John nodded a bit as Clark joined him and he replied.

"Thinking…about what life used to be like before I became a Spartan."

Clark nodded, already aware of what exactly was in that the Spartan was speaking about, after all he had seen the man's memories to some extent.

"You said you never regretted being a Spartan."

"I know, I would not have it any other way, still, it's nice to see something that reminds me of home. You're adopted parents are good people, you are very lucky to have been raised by them."

Clark laughed a bit at that and nodded.

"Yes I am, they were very accepting of me though I had no doubt in my mind that it was not easy dealing with me and my…abilities. To be perfectly honest, one of the things I desired most as a kid growing up here was to be normal."

John turned and raised his eyebrow a bit and Clark saw that and nodded.

"That sounds weird doesn't it?"

"Not really, but I am curious as to why, your powers and abilities are very much a part of you after all. And despite the things I have heard about, including the whole Darkseid event, you've done a great deal of good with those same powers that you have with you right now."

"True, but I'll admit it was never easy, everyday when I became stronger, faster, tougher, and discovering my other abilities, it drove me to wonder just what was I if not a regular human being. The day my parents showed me the ship they found me in, and when I saw the recording of my biological parents who were in Krypton, I thought I was a freak and a monster. It…took a while for me to realize that I could do some good with these gifts of mine and, it did me good to know that they loved me either way."

Clark bent down and took a blade of grass and chewed on it a bit, not minding the taste and John looked at Clark and could see just why most people would not have thought he was Superman.

"Still, one of my greatest wishes was that I was like my adopted parents, living here or in Metropolis, working a regular job, have a family, a wife and kids, and of course, be a very regular man."

John then decided to reply to that.

"It's a good dream, and considering where you grew up, very valid and respectable, so I take it that there is a reason you have your dual identity?"

"Yes, if I was not Clark Kent, it would have driven me off the wall, and I wanted to remember where I grew up and who I was before ever becoming the Man of Steel."

John nodded at that, losing one's sense of self was not easy in his mind and in his own thoughts, Clark was lucky that he had such parents and a life to go back to. It was here that he decided to ask another question pertaining to one subject that he was not yet sure he was in an authority to talk about, but to him it should be very interesting either way.

"So if you were a regular person, I suppose you would have asked Lois Lane on a date?"

Clark turned and raised an eyebrow at that and replied.

"What brought this on John?"

"It's an honest question in my mind Clark, I have seen you two work together before I ever revealed myself to you and the others. And from what I have been able to see when you are together, you seem to like her a lot, not that I mentioned it to anyone. Cortana mentioned it to me more than once as a topic of conversation as it were even though I did not ask for it as it was your business and not mine. You do not need to answer anyway, it's an honest question that you can ignore is you want to."

Clark smiled a bit at that as he looked at the clouds and remembered how he used to love looking at the clouds as a kid and wanting to see them up close. That was before he made the discovery that he could actually fly into them. He also knew that John was right about it being his choice to answer his question or not, and besides it was actually going to be interesting if he did answer that question.

"I would actually do that, Lois and I have been working together for years and she is certainly a very capable person. So if I didn't have to hide my real self, I would ask her out, I have no idea if she would say yes, but it is going to be interesting to find out either way."

John nodded at that and he spoke to the Kryptonian once more.

"There's truth in that regard, but considering the reality of it, you would have to tell her your other identity as Superman. If you had to do that, would you?"

"I guess I would at some point, the reason I have not is considering the kinds of enemies I have to deal with on a regular basis, having her know who I am would place her in danger. If many of my enemies found out that Lois knew my civilian identity then there is no telling how much danger she would be in. I do not want that to happen to her at all as I would never be able to forgive myself, not to mention the fact that her father would certainly not take what would happen to her lightly."

John had to agree with that and considering that he learned of Lois's father Sam Lane, then that would certainly be a problem of considerable proportions.

"I can understand that, however, you have to consider the fact that sooner or later you either have to tell her the truth, or she will figure it out on her own time and on her own terms. That can really make things very difficult for the both of you and no doubt she is not going to be the least pleased that you hid it from her."

Clark nodded at that as he knew just how determined and focused Lois was when she felt that she had something that would help her crack a case or answer a question in the story. After all, it was that same determination that made her go after Lex when they first met all those years ago when he stepped off the bus from Smallville.

"I guess that you have a point there, and besides, Lois risked her life to save me when I was held prisoner in the US military base, though they did have good reason. She risked her life and reputation then as well as her own standing by being supportive of me afterwards. I guess I would have to tell her at some point and time, but I guess that until I find the right moment to tell her everything, I can only hope and do my best to be ready for that. But like I said, once she finds out the truth, the whole thing is going to be very interesting for the both of us."

John nodded in agreement at that and he was actually rather curious about that and made that clear.

"I suppose it would be though I think that she is not going to be forgiving you for a while for that. At any rate, we should get back to your house, you're mother insisted I learn how to cook a few more dishes. And I do not want to be late for that sort of thing anyway."

Clark laughed at that as the two of them headed out and go back to the Kent home and it was also here that Kara was at the moment as the Argonan teen was happy to finally be able to meet the Spartan without the MJOLNIR armor hiding his face this time around. Kara was naturally surprised ay the sight of the Spartan without the Armor and she had to admit that he was not bad looking, though she also admitted that knowing what he was capable was a bit intimidating.

The day was sent in what Jonathan would call a good out fashioned out door barbeque and they were having roast beef with potatoes along with carrots and peas, along with bread, cheese and butter, along with root beer, fruit juice, water-melons and some other fruit to boot as well. After the feasting Kara decided to ask the Spartan a few questions which were naturally were at who he was. This was the part of the day that naturally that the Spartan was not too comfortable with the idea.

But with Clark talking to Kara alongside him and him glossing over the more brutal details of the wars he had been in, it was completed without too many questions that could possibly hit any potential problems and issues that John felt were not the least bit appropriate. Kara was surprised and impressed about how advanced the UNSC was, and was understandably disturbed by the Insurrection, the Spartan II Program itself and the War with the Covenant, though the two older heroes made sure to keep the more bloody details to themselves until Kara was a lot more mature and understanding of the situation. No sense telling her these details until she was ready to handle the situation and not make any rash judgments on the whole matter.

Afterwards, this left Kara alone with the Master Chief while Clark decided to help his family in cleaning up the dishes and also helping with anything else that was needed around the house that he might have missed. The younger woman was sitting on a nearby boulder while the Spartan merely leaned on the other side of the large stone as the two of them were looking at the lush fields that dotted the landscape that was in Smallville. Kara was silent for a while longer and looked at John for a moment until she spoke.

"You don't regret that kind of life?"

"Not really, it was hard and demanding, I would be lying about it if it wasn't, but I do not regret it at all Miss Kent, besides, things would have been a lot different if the Spartan II Program had not existed at all in the first place."

"I guess so…it's not easy thinking about it, and I have no doubt that you and Clark hid some of the more…disturbing details from me right?"

"Yes, don't take it the wrong way though, we had reasons for keeping them from you and also from those who are not yet ready to hear about the very sordid details."

"I know, but after all that I have heard, I can bet that you had indeed been a hero, but I will have to say this. I dislike what they did to you and the other children, making you into living super weapons like that, taking you away from family and friends while using those clones like that. I am not trying to be offensive or anything, but that's just my viewpoint of the whole thing that I have just learned concerning you and your past."

"No offense taken, I have no doubt that your cousin had the same level of thoughts about the whole thing as well. By the way, what has happened back there in Metropolis?"

Kara smiled a bit and replied.

"Steel's getting really interested to see more of that Armor of yours, I think he's wondering if you want to share some of the technology you have to improve his armor. I kind of told him not to go too far about that since we did not know you too well but I know Steel has good intentions. He was also listening to that broadcast about those technologies you gave to the public, he really liked that and hope that it can really be a boon to so many people."

"I have been busy in Metropolis too in order to fill in when that thing with Aquaman started, not to mention hanging out with a few friends of mine."

"I take it these friends are also heroes?"

Kara nodded and replied.

"Yep, my best friend Barbara, she and I actually had a get together and had a chance to watch a movie and drink a few root beer floats and have a break. Nothing too serious at all, just a night out with some of the girls. Afterwards, I had to help stop a few robberies, some thefts, and the usual run, thank god for the fact Metallo is still a statue in lockup."

"I remember, you were very good back there, a bit green perhaps, but you had good intentions."

Kara raised an eyebrow at that.

"Hey, I may not be as experienced as my cousin, but I am no slouch in being a hero."

"True, I could teach you a few things if you want and if I get your cousin's permission."

"Oh really? That sounds interesting, but I hope that it does not involve the use of guns, Clark's not going to like that one bit."

John nodded at that and replied.

"No worries, just some basic hand to hand combat techniques and also some use of the environment around you in a fight, nothing too major. I might not be as skilled as Li or Fred when it comes to those areas of combat, but I get by."

"Who are they?"

John sighed at that and Kara noted that.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No, just thinking about my brothers in arms."

"You really miss them don't you?"

"Yes I do, but I have no doubt that if I get the chance to return, I will find out if they are still alive and then go back to my duties to the UNSC. Until then I will do my best to help this reality and keep the peace."

Kara nodded at that and two accompanied each other back to the Kent household, Superman still had a few days time with his family so they might as well make the most of it while they were there. Besides that, John knew that Cortana was going to be very curious just what exactly was he doing there in the house of Superman's adopted family and whether he was learning how to blend in with the people as well as integrate with civilians and the live a civilian life.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Well this is should be a good show that the story is well under way, I am making at least a few more chapters that will highlight the Chief getting to socialize with the other members of the League. The next one will actually be Flash as John will be there to help deal with some issues in Central City and allow John to see what sort of hero Flash really is in his own city. It's not too long and not too short and while there is no action and fighting, I believe some down time is in order for the Master Chief as well as the others in the League as well.

Naturally this will help John and the League in many ways, namely when we get to the episode where we now have to deal with none other than the Justice Lords.

On the next chapter, I will indeed have John work with Flash in the speedster's city and do not expect him to have an easy time there at anytime. Not that the villains of Flash can be a fatal threat for John to deal with, but it should make things interesting. Along the way, you can bet that John and Wally will be able to get used to working with one another.

…

And yes, I am not going to pull punches as I will indeed have Maxima in the story after the arcs that have John working with the League on their down time. The Queen will naturally hear of the Spartan and after learning what he can, she develops an interest towards the Spartan. However her time with Superman has managed to mellow her out a bit though she has not changed too much and still retains her warrior skills as well as her desire to have a husband, though this time around she wants to have a partner to help rule her people.

You can bet that when this arc happens, there will be a showdown between the League and Maxima as the others will try to convince Maxima to let their friend go. And for those who are eager to see Wonder Woman and Maxima fight one another over John, it will happen though there will be a reason for the to fight one another and it should make things interesting for all involved.

Keep in mind though that Maxima is by definition not an evil character, she just wants to have a husband and after two years, she had mellowed a bit though not by much. As such, there will be some considerable changes in her, though do not expect her to give up a good percentage of her violent nature.

…

And for all of the fans who want a fight between Diana and Maxima over the Spartan, I will do my best to actually make such a battle both interesting as well as something that can be considered as possible. Diana may have some level of trust towards the Chief, but do not expect her to be that attracted just yet, there will be some emotions there, but not to that level at this time.

I WILL get to that point soon enough so don't anyone blow the proverbial gasket. But this will take time as I have to do research on Maxima to make sure that it will work out. Not to mention that I will be updating my other works to be sure that I have a good and balanced storyline to work with. So for now I will be out of this story for a while…

But to give you a hint, I will have Diana reveal herself as a princess and would challenge Maxima, from one member of royalty to another to allow them to get John back without incident. It's going to be interesting and it will certainly be worth racking my brain to make a good scene of.

So I will see you all soon and I hope for the best.

Bye!


	13. Trailers for coming major arcs

Story Trailers for Justice League Spartan Alliance…

Hi there...

My computer is still in the shop but as promised I have been busy working on new chapter ideas and running new scenarios in my head. Two of which will be for Justice League Spartan Alliance...namely since I will be dealing with two serious arcs after doing the arcs that deal with John spending some down time with the League members. Naturally two said arcs will be the Injustice For All and the Paradise Lost Arcs

…

Trailer 1…

John mentally shook his head and quickly activated the BIOS systems of his MJOLNIR to see if it was still good. Once the systems came online, he noted that his comm systems to Cortana and the League was offline and so were his shields as something was disrupting them. he however noted that everything else was working nicely and that would help him as he as looked about and saw that he was currently being restrained and so was Batman in what would be some sort of disruptor field.

It was here that he spotted the group that Luthor called together and he had fought with along with the League days before, though it was obvious that Copperhead was not among them. He glared darkly at them all though his darkest glare was at a certain armor wearing maniac that had somehow vanished, that was when the Ultra-Humanite spoke to him first.

"Greetings there Spartan, I would advise you not to try to move as you are currently being placed on a magnetic table with at least four inch thick titanium restraints, there is also a psionic shield to make sure that your alien companion cannot find you and Batman via telepathy. And thanks to our mutual friend here, your shields and communications are offline for the moment, though how I am not too sure on the details. The same goes for Batman though as you can see, his restraints are a bit different than yours."

Luthor decided that now was the time to get to business as he spoke with authority gaining the villains attention.

"Enough…Wake Batman up, he has information we need."

Joker naturally took the offer and walked up to his nemesis.

"Wakey wakey Batman…" he sing-songed in an eerie voice before striking with a hand on the Dark Knight

*SLAP*

Bruce woke up immediately and saw the face of the man he had come to loathe for a very long time and had at times wished he could place at a more permanent end though he never thought of things in that manner no matter what. And as soon as he got his thoughts and focus in order, he spoke with absolute disdain for the certified psychotic man before him.

"Joker…I should have known you'd be in on this."

Batman saw John tied to a table next to him though his restraints denied him mobility.

Luthor saw this and chose to comment to assure Batman that his companion was still breathing.

"He's alive for the moment, but both of you have something I want and that is the only keeping you alive."

The man spoke with finality.

"What makes you think we'll cooperate with a man like you?" John asked gaining everyone's attention.

"You will if you value each other's lives."

John however was hardly impressed by the threat and replied.

"Apparently you don't know me very well Lex Luthor, I am a Spartan II Commando and I have been fighting for over thirty years of my life since I was young, and I have personally fought against armies of fanatics and terrorists. I have also killed them all along with their leaders with whatever I have in my hands and I have faced far more dangerous threats than you and this crew of yours. So if you think that threatening me with death is going to work, then you are wasting my time, go ahead and kill me because I am not afraid of death as I am accustomed to facing death on a regular basis. And I can bet that the same goes for Batman as well."

The Injustice gang turned to Batman and he nodded.

"Today is a good day to die in my perspective. Better that than helping you cretins."

Joker grinned and moved to face his nemesis as he spoke.

"You heard them Lexy, I guess we don't need them."

Lex glared and replied harshly.

"Knock if off you idiot! I need them alive!"

Joker frowned at that and spoke to Lex.

"You are off your rocker Lex, didn't you hear what they said to you? Besides, they're too dangerous to leave alive."

And then John replied to that.

"For once, that maniac clown is right Lex. You're asking for trouble keeping us alive, and you had better pray that I don't come loose and decide to deal with you personally or you'll wish it was Superman who was in my place."

Lex glared and replied.

"And why is that?"

"Because unlike him and when I feel you are too much of a threat to leave alive, I will gladly put three bullets in you, two in the chest and one in the head."

…

Trailer 2...

John was feeling pain like one would never believe as he tried to get himself back into the situation he was in, he had to get up...the fate of Humanity was on the line once more. Hades might be a God, but he'd be damned if he was going to let some genocide loving deity wipe out humanity for his own amusement! The swords that impaled him by his legs, shoulders, and arms hurt like hell as they had bypassed his severely damaged and cracked armor but he was not going to go down like this...the others needed help and he was not yet dead.

(Damn it...I refuse to let this end, I will not let this by my end or anyone else's!)

It was here that the augmentations he had gained months before back in the Forerunner facility began to take effect. he felt something stir in his body...at the genetic level as the augmentations were triggered. Already he could feel his body begin to heal faster than before, his vitally seemed to increase, and the pain began to fade away. But the real telling thing that something was about to happen was when he heard a voice in his mind that spoke to him. It was a voice that spoke to him, a kind and compassionate voice.

"I chose your people...despite their history to be precious...worthy of being saved. And to succeed us, you will not die, not here and not now. You have so much let to accomplish. May your ancestors' past and their skills aid you now along with the gifts that you will inherit as your right as our people's successors. Stand and show the fury and defiance that made your people worthy as our successors."

As soon as both faces ended, John felt strength flow through him and the pain faded as he yanked his hands free from the swords that were there. The pain was countered and the wounds began to heal and he yanked out the swords from his body. He then took one sword in hand and yanked out a nearby spear in the ground and then tossed it right at Hades as he shouted at the God.

"HADES!"

The God turned as he avoided the spear, but his smug look was gone as he was stunned to see the mortal he had dealt with still be alive and he shouted at him.

"**How can an insect of a mortal like you still live? Why do you not die like any other mortal?**"

John merely glared and replied as he thought of all of his friends and allies, and those in the Spartan II Program and the ironic words that were tied to them. Just maybe...they were about to be proven right.

"Die? Don't you know? SPARTANS DO NOT DIE!"

...

There…I feel that the second trailer was a bit too much, but I'll work something out.

Bye!


	14. Chapter 14

Justice League Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to DC or Bungie so don't send the lawyers after me okay?

Chapter 9

Speedster's Pad…

( ): Thoughts

…

In the Dawn…

John was currently working on some of the weapons in the armory and also take some time to work on the maintenance of his baseline MJOLNIR. Cortana was also back on the bridge and doing some scans on the current news on the world. They were not the only ones in the dawn as Bruce was with them and looking over the records of the history of the UNSC. The billionaire super hero was with them in order to learn more of the UNSC and also what life was like in the 26th century.

Plus he was also there to oversee the transaction of the funds from the technology they had traded to the world. The technology was already winning a number of allies for the Spartan and the League at the same time, which in the minds of the heroes was a good thing since doing humanitarian work would be something that made life a lot easier. Already the two owned at least several millions in various currencies and that was a good thing since now Cortana had no reason to be siphoning away any more money from corrupt people in business, government, and the criminal sectors. This made it a lot less likely that anyone suspected something since Cortana no longer had to make any more moves on them, even though Cortana would jokingly complain that she missed the thrill of testing the bad guys in the electronic world even though their defensive measures were in her opinion, a joke.

That was more than enough to make the Spartan smirk a little bit and he assured her that with the projects would help keep her happy until they would get the chance to face the next batch of criminals. The UNSC Smart A.I hoped that she was going to get the chance to do so and that helped her deal with the monotony, and it was a good thing in John's mind that Cortana was no longer in danger of Rampancy.

As soon as he was done doing the routine checks and stowing away the weapons, he headed off to the bridge and see just what was going on in the rest of the world. He was moving to the stairs when Bruce came to his side, reading some data from a Chatter Pad. The Spartan smiled mentally at the sight of Bruce as the man did not fail to walk in step with him as they made their way to the bridge. He decided to see just how far had Bruce gone with the reading of the history.

"How are you doing with your reading?"

"Pretty good, I have say that the UNSC certainly have made quite a number of changes that can be considered as impressive. The medical advances are very significant and at least despite the fact that there are still the negative aspects of any society there, they did not stop in trying to make a better place without sacrificing too many things."

"Still it's hard to imagine that you were able to hold that many worlds before the Covenant came, it must have been difficult even before the Insurrection."

John nodded at that and replied.

"Very true, planetary communication systems were not too easily done even with the advent of Slipspace COM systems, though that system was only used for priority military and government work. Anyway, what's been happening with the technology on your end?"

"The R&D guys are having a field day with all the technology they have to work with, Lucius tells me that he sees a major amount of potential in that Hydrogen engines and is hoping that you would not mind having a larger civilian variant made for big rig trucks. The oil tycoons however are demanding to be there to run the engines through their paces…all the way to breaking point. I've lost count on how many letters sent to my office in Waynetech from said tycoons about that. Lucius is planning to send a team with several test engines for them to test themselves."

"That should satisfy them."

"Also the Polypsuedomorphine is working wonders in the medical field, namely for emergency teams, police, and military. We got numerous orders for the drugs to be shipped from many companies, many countries are also asking for shipments of the drugs to help alleviate any situation that might crop up. The police in Gotham are certainly enjoying the use of it for restraining the criminals and at least they don't have to worry about them becoming addicts to boot."

"I take it you use it too?"

Bruce nodded and did not mind showing it, the synthetic drug was in fact a life saver for him, along with Barbara, Dick, and Tim as it allowed them to counter the pain from their injuries and sedate themselves for treatment once they were out of danger. Plus it worked wonders in restraining a number of criminals that they dealt with, namely mobsters and hit men by the dozen since enough of the drug could knock out anyone for at least a day or so without killing them or turning them into addicts."

"Yeah, it's been more than helpful, plus the Bio-Foam is getting a lot of orders as well. We've gotten a lot of positive comments in the field when that was tested. The Dermacotric Steroids also have gotten quite a lot of praise in the field in treating burns and heavy injuries along with the Sterile Field Generator."

.As the two men arrived into the bridge, John moved to the chair as Cortana appeared near the holo-tank and she was smiling.

"Nice to hear the news, anyway, here's some of those said glowing comments."

The A.I revealed to both the Spartan and the Dark Knight some of the said reports as a reporter in the European nation of France spoke on the events of a large fire that broke out at a factory.

"The fire broke out three hours ago due to what experts say is an electrical short in the fuse box and the lack of overall maintenance for the past week. The people in the warehouse managed to evacuate though a few were injured and some have second degree burns, along with injuries from heavy metal debris. Thankfully local EMTs were able to save many thanks to the new arrival of medical supplies and technology handed by Waynetech from the Master Chief, one of the members of the Justice League. The new medical technology is now being used to treat the more seriously injured victims and they will make a full recovery in a matter of days."

The next image came from a doctor working in the African nation of Kenya in one of the poorer towns.

"How have the treatments been Doctor Nadia?"

"They have done well, already several of our patients with cases of stage four liver cancer have shown remarkable recovery, a number of the other cases who had stage 2 lung cancer and stage 3 bone cancer are also showing signs of recovery far beyond what would normally be expected. Many of us here in the clinic feel that with continued treatments they all will fully recover in a matter of weeks and be in full health."

"Amazing…"

"That is an understatement Miss Roberts, without these treatment methods given to the medical community by the Spartan, these cases would have soon passed away in pain. To think that in his reality they had conquered these cancers is remarkable and I as a medical professional thank the Spartan for his willingness to share such wonders to the people of the world."

This went on for a while and John could not help but smile slightly, Bruce himself smiled slightly as he was happy to know that many people did not have to suffer any more. He then turned to Cortana and took out another data pad and allowed her to touch it.

"Here's the latest proceeds from the sales, you all now have at least 8 billion in funds to use if you need it."

Cortana smiled at that and replied.

"That's good to know since we can now not worry about funds and it can be helpful if buying supplies for very important operations needs to be done. Anyway, it seems that you're company is getting a lot of good publicity for the work they are doing, I know you might not like hearing this, but I feel your parents would be proud."

Normally hearing that would have made Bruce frown a bit, but in this case, he did not and nodded slightly with the small smile still there on his face.

"They would be, they always cared more for the happiness of others than monetary gain. At any rate, we should head back to the Watch-tower and see how things are going."

…

Later…

John and the others were currently talking in the galley and it seemed that things were settling down. Stewart was currently not with them since he had decided to go to Oa for a bit. No doubt to help mend some fences with the others in the Green Lanterns. Even though he had been proven innocent in regards to the supposed destruction of Agurius 4, he decided to work on mending his ties with his fellow Lanterns, plus he had to properly thank Kilowogg for standing up for him, even though he acted like he did not need his help.

They agreed that it was a good thing and having good relations with the Lanterns can be good in many ways. This left the six other Leaguers to discuss how things had been for them, Diana reported that she had managed to help prevent a number of robberies and some hostage taking in New York and Jersey, for which the police were happy for since some of the kidnappers and robbers were armed with heavy weapons and some of them had been badly injured. She also was approached by a number of younger girls and women who wanted to speak to her and learn more about her and her people. Diana did not mind that and did her best to tell them about her home and people while keeping in mind that since she was in Man's world she did not try to force her people's beliefs on them.

She also mentioned that she had taken an interest in working in a library to allow her to read more on the many changes that happened in the world that she and her people had left behind when they moved to live on Themyscira. She had been in the library for a few hours in her civilian disguise and found the peace there to be very welcoming and certainly access to so many books could help her understand the world of men.

John agreed with that and at this moment, he recalled how he and Diana had contacted the NYPD and their Police Commissioner. The Commissioner was a woman named Amanda Harrison and was a veteran police officer who had a number of years under her belt that made her a viable choice as Commissioner, the fact that she was a woman of authority and respect made Diana pleased as she had partially expected a man to be in the position. One of the leftover thoughts her people had that in Man's world, no woman would be allowed to have power, and one she found did not work in the modern world as women had considerable power in it though not everywhere. They spoke to Amanda on the fact that despite their presence in New York, they were not there to make the police look bad, they intended to aid the police and support them off the scenes when the situations did not warrant their intervention, only when it was a serious matter would they come in and lend their aid.

Amanda was quite curious as to why and John responded that since he was trained for counter terrorism and counter insurgency, he was more than able to handle most situations. But he respected the authority of those chosen to defend the people in the area of civilian life and as such, despite being in the military, he and his fellow Spartan IIs only moved in when a situation was considered too sensitive for local law enforcement or regular military to handle, even special forces units when civilian lives were at stake as well as collateral damage. That was why he gave her a special UNSC COM unit that she could use to contact them if there was something that the local police needed help with and if they needed direct assistance from him and Wonder Woman.

The Commissioner was not too sold on the idea, but knew that with the growing number of criminals with high powered and even at times, alien weapons, plus the number of costumed super villains with powers, the world needed all the help it could get. Plus there was the fact that both heroes were considered to be very helpful to the cause of protecting people, and her own officers were pleased when they showed up when they were dealing with those kinds of crooks with too much firepower and muscle, or powers of any kind.

So she agreed and that was how they came to an agreement, if there were crimes that were happening that were within reach of either him or Wonder Woman, they could handle it, if there were crimes and situations that they could not reach but the police could and they were able to handle it, the two heroes would provide support but not directly interfere with police business. But if something came up that proved too dangerous for local law enforcement and prolonged conflict could result in heavy loss of life in the civilian population and local law enforcement, he and Wonder Woman would come in.

He also told the League that since they knew that the Spartan II Program was originally intended to fight insurrection and rebellion, he was falling back on the Program's maiden purpose. And since there were not that many incidents of terrorism for him to fight, he would let the police handle it along with other law enforcement groups. He and Diana would deal with the crimes that they were able to be close to and let the police do their duties as public servants. Only if they were dealing with super powered villains, terrorists or very sensitive situations would he and Diana come in.

That course of action was something the other members of the League appreciated and John reported on his end that he had been busy helping deal with some criminal groups that had been smuggling rare and priceless relics for profit in the black market along with dealing in loose and unregistered firearms.

…

Superman also reported that he had to deal with a number of attacks from a number of his old foes, namely Parasite and Livewire who apparently had been able to get out of prison. He also had to help protect Lois from several crooks who had axes to grind with her, and had to help her when Toyman attacked once more. He also had to deal with saving a sinking cargo tanker outside of Metropolis, along with helping deal with an environmental issue stemming from one of the Lexcorp plants releasing 'accidentally' dangerous toxic wastes. He got the mess cleaned up though Luthor got away clean yet again.

John asked Clark why was it that he did not do something about the corrupt genius of a businessman since he had been receiving reports from Cortana that Lex had even tried to steal from other groups the technologies that he had given to the people though he had been able to escape with bribes and legal loopholes. And also why he did not stop Lex since in John's mind, it was only going to be a matter of time before Luthor finally decided to take his actions too far.

Clark replied that he did not want to go beyond what he could do, he knew that if it came down to sheer physical combat, he could easily defeat Luthor, but he was not going to go to the point of lethality. He had learned the value of morality and ethics from his parents as he reminded John and he was not going to become like Luthor. In fact he had always wondered why was it that Luthor wanted so much to bring him down and harm him. But unless he had no other alternative and he was able to finally expose Luthor's crimes and criminal actions to everyone so Luthor can no longer hide his true nature to them, he was not going to go too far.

John decided to agree with that but he honestly pointed out that if he had no other option and there was nothing left to stop the whole situation from spilling over, he would deal with Luthor his way if the man went after him. Clark nodded and replied that he did not have anything against that if it was unavoidable, but hoped that it did not come to that very point.

…

Batman then replied that he had stopped another attempt by Bane to attack and hold vital people in Gotham as hostages for money. The battle hardened genius criminal who was a very powerful fighter by Batman's standard had kidnapped none other than Commissioner Gordon so it was a difficult mission for both him and Batgirl as he respected Gordon and Barbara loved her father to let harm come to him. They succeeded and Bane was defeated, but it had been painful for them had it not been for the medical supplies they had and the technology they gained from both Cortana and John.

He also reported that he also had to deal with another matter when a corrupt business-man named Reynard Castler from Europe that had attempted to take some land by less than reputable means that were meant for the building of a new clinic for the poor of Gotham. He had to be Bruce Wayne since he could not be Batman so had to rely on other ways to defeat him since all of Reynard's moves had legal protection. And while he was known to bend the rules of the law, he was not going to break them since doing so would make him just like the criminals he fought against.

He did well and Reynard had not only been exposed by his actions but that of Barbara and her father as well as Dr. Tompkins who was one of the people who wanted to have the clinic built. That was something that the others were happy about since it was not a good thing for them to hear that some corrupt businessman wanted something for himself.

…

Hawkgirl stated that she had to deal with another band of smugglers who were taking away priceless species of animals and plants and smuggling them through Louisiana, her current place of residence. The reason the government could not handle it was too fold, the first was that they had taken a number of Government agents hostage and were using them as leverage, coupled with the fact that some corrupt officials were helping them from behind the scenes. She managed to help in locating where the government agents were being held and she helped rescue them. She also took part in locating where the animals and plants were being hidden and freed them as well.

She also mentioned that she had to help with defeating a number of well armed thieves that had also been attacking banks in the area. They did not take very long in their attacks to try and fight back against her and the police, but she was able to take them out and also managed to find their leader through her training as a detective, though in truth she had done so with her training as a member of the Thanagarian Military Intelligence and Covert Operations. But so far she kept that part of her life hidden.

…

J'onn himself decided that he was going to remain in the Tower and do monitoring work to make sure that he can coordinate with the others. The Martian also stated that since he had yet to find a place that he could stay in, he was going to remain as the eyes and ears of the team here in space alongside Cortana. Superman himself was not entirely happy with J;onn's decision but decided that until they found a place for the last of the Martian race, they had to let him do what he can.

The Martian knew that it was not a normal choice as some humans would put it, but he wanted to do this for a while and it helped ease some part of his mind.

As for Flash, he reported dealing with some collapsing buildings and prevented a number of people from being flattened by the debris. He also mentioned that both Weather Wizard and Snow King had also tried to rob a number of convoys from a few banks and even steal some high end merchandise from a few stores while they were at it back in Central City. He also moved to help with a hostage situation in Las Vegas and joked that he could have really used some luck when he tried to win some money in the gambling area.

The other heroes disapproved of that idea but John spoke that perhaps Flash was not in the kind of person to do that to get rich. Otherwise he would have been doing LONG before being part of the League.

To which the Speedster nodded in agreement and explained the he had planned to send the money to fund several of his favorite charities and also help pay the bills on one of the elderly community care centers in Central City. Not to mention that he was also going to use what money was left to pay for the repairs to the City's museum that got badly damaged in the battle he had with Captain Boomerang a week prior.

That eased the thoughts of the heroes and Cortana even commented that Flash was possibly one of the more down to Earth heroes in her point of view. To which Flash smiled a bit more and it was something that ended the meeting. Superman planned to head back to Metropolis after dropping off some of his newly acquired groceries to his folks while helping Kara who was going to be taking in part of John's training regime which John was going to test and see if she can fight without relying too heavily on her powers.

Wonder Woman was going back to New York and work on getting ready for the interview for her part time job. And she also mentioned that she had plans to prepare for a small Amazon holiday that involved a small feast and to play some music that she found to be very similar to the music that she enjoyed listening to growing up on her homeland.

It was going to be a while though since she had a lot to do in her time and she was hoping that she could spend it well with the others, namely with John and Cortana. The A.I appeared and grinned as she was more than willing to join this little festival and it was obvious that Diana wanted to have John there as well. The Spartan was a bit surprised by Diana's request but decided to join this since Diana would be happy if they were around.

Diana smiled warmly at that and that was the end of it.

That smile was not lost in the eyes of the others in the League and that made John a bit more conscious of himself. Superman was not getting it but decided not to comment about the whole matter, Batman merely raised an eyebrow but did not comment about it either, J'onn did not say anything but he smiled a bit at the whole affair, while Hawkgirl was raising an eyebrow but grinned slightly and shook her head.

As for Flash, he was a lot more direct as he soon joined up to the Master Chief as the Spartan was moving to the area of the Watch Tower where his armory was.

"Hey Chief, you have a moment?"

The Spartan turned to face the speedster and nodded.

"Sure, go ahead Flash."

"I was wondering on when you are going to ask Diana out on a date."

John raised an eyebrow at that while still wearing his helmet as he was not sure how to respond to that for a moment or two. He then decided to figure out just what was it that Flash was getting at though there was a part of his mind, no matter how small told him that he knew just what the speedster was asking about, but was dodging the issue.

"A date?"

Flash grinned and replied.

"Come on John, you know what I mean by that. Have you asked her out while you are there in NY? Take her to a fancy restaurant, treat her like a princess, especially since she IS a princess. Give her presents and the like, you know, a date."

John shook his head a bit at that and that told Flash that he had not made any moves yet. And the speedster could not help but feel a bit stumped by that. He looked at Diana who was currently chatting with both Cortana and J'onn and noted the way the Amazon looked at the Spartan and looked back at the Master Chief and spoke.

"You can't be serious, you mean to tell me that you have NOT asked her out?"

John decided to speak about some of the things that he had done with Diana, namely when they went out to eat some of the food, namely at the Blarney Stone. That made Flash grin even more and he decided to bring it home a bit more.

"So you HAVE taken her out to the city, and shared some private time. Who knew that you can be quite the gentleman huh?"

John stared at Flash and despite the stare of the armored Spartan, Flash was happy to know that he HAD gone out with Diana and he spoke.

"I think it's very cool honestly that you two went out together. I mean she's one very gorgeous woman and is tough too, and more than able to not only defend herself but kick the stuffing out of the bad guys with less than good plans in their heads. You have any idea how many guys would have jumped at the chance to be you right now when it's with her? I think that if she was with you back in the UNSC, a LOT of those guys, even those ODSTs would have been green eyed with jealousy."

John sighed a bit as he replied.

"You do know that there are military regulations that forbid fraternization among enlisted personnel, Flash?"

Flash nodded but did not lose his smirk as he replied.

"I know, I did chat with some regular military retirees in my days after all, but even military guys have families right? And besides, Diana's not in the military so the regulations don't apply to her at any case. I really think you should at least go out with her more often than just being in the armor all the time. She obviously likes you anyway John so you should show you appreciate her too, so ask her out on a date when you can all right big guy? Who knows, you two might learn even more about each other."

John shook his head at that and replied seriously

"You know already that I don't exactly have the experience Flash, being a Spartan in a three decades long War does not exactly leave me time to socialize after all."

Flash gave a serious look at that and knew that there was truth there in John's words, considering the fate of the UNSC and the people in John's reality; romance was the LAST thing on anyone's mind when a host of aliens came barging in to kill you all. And considering the fact that John was trained as a super soldier for almost all of his life, he guessed that the Master Chief did not have time to be around girls much, apart from military personnel and his fellow female Spartans. He had a feeling though that despite that, there must have been SOME women in the UNSC who found the Chief interesting enough to approach.

The speedster sighed a bit and then replied.

"That might be the case Chief, but that does not mean you can't try that here, and it can really help you in the long run. Besides that, you can learn how to be with the ladies and that's not a bad thing. If you want, I can even give you some ideas on how to woe a lady."

John snorted a bit and replied.

"You remember when you tried that on Wonder Woman when we started working together?"

"Yeah, but that does not mean I will give up big guy, and neither should you, enjoy your life for all it's worth while you and Cortana are here, enjoy every moment you've got and learn the beauty of life. And besides, you've done a great deal of good here this world so you can at least be assured that you can learn to relax and enjoy the peace, no matter how long or short it might be."

The way Flash said it was so profound in some way to his mind that John did something that he rarely, if ever did in front of anyone. He chuckled lightly and began to laugh lightly as well, making Flash look at him in surprise until he stopped laughing moments later and spoke to Flash.

"Maybe Cortana was right, have you considered being a psychologist at some point in life?"

Flash shook his head and grinned as he replied.

"No thanks, I prefer being the man I am now, the fastest man alive. Speaking of which, you want to go hang out with me in Central?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure it's not as big as New York or as classy, but it's certainly a good place to unwind…minus the regular annoyances I have to deal with."

"Your own…rogue's gallery?"

Flash smirked and replied.

"Yeah, they're not as borderline nutty or as deadly as Batman's, high tech and deadly as Superman's, or that of the others as well. But they are not the kind of foes you can look down or laugh at for too long either. They can be rather smart when they can be, and they can be a real pain but I can only hope that they are not going to annoy us when we get there for some R&R, and after all I have been doing, some R&R is very promising. Care to join me when you feel ready to do so Chief, you can always say no if you want to."

John thought about that and figured that seeing how one of his team mates in the League operated was not a bad idea. Besides, after his time with Clark, he was not adverse to the idea of getting to know just what was it that made Flash do what he did.

"All right then, I'll see you there."

Flash grinned and made his way to the teleporter as John decided to go to the Dawn and get his Armor off and get some things organized, just as Cortana came to his side via one of the Sentinels that she controlled as her A.I form appeared. He did not need to ask as he could tell that Cortana heard every word, and the grin on her face was more than telling of what she thought of the whole situation.

"So you're off to join Flash in Central?"

"Yeah, figured seeing how things are for him are in order."

"Good call, time in Smallville was pretty good and relaxing, not exactly something you and I have known for years. Anyway, before we go running through memory lane, when ARE you going to ask Diana out on a date?"

"Cortana, not you too, I've already been out with Diana and those times were not bad."

"I know that big guy, but those times with Diana were when I insisted that you, or rather, begged you two to socialize. I am talking about YOU going to Diana and asking her out. You alone, and not because I told you to either, you ask her out on your own time and of your own choice. THAT is in my mind the definition of a date."

John sighed at that and knew that it had been a strange number of days, though not in a negative way when he was with Diana. Being with the Amazon, working with her, and at times chatting with her when they were not fighting criminals or helping the League had a strange but not unwelcome effect on him. Talking about his past was expected though she was not willing to pry deeper than she had to, and that was a good thing since that showed she respected his right to privacy. She was a strong and powerful woman trained in warfare at a young age like he was and more than able to hold her own, but despite her powers she was a diplomat at heart and a pacifist. That was a combination that he had to admire and he admitted that being close to her had a slight…unsettling effect on him, namely when he looked at her a lot longer than he should.

Of course that did not mean that it was just Diana who was occupying his thoughts, just recently he had run into Vixen again on a routine supply drop of medical supplies to Africa. The model and crime fighter was happy to see him again and said that she was very pleased by what he had done, stating that so many people were indebted to him for his compassion and generosity. They both worked together in protecting them from any roving band of raiders, robbers, and warlords, some of whom tried to get fresh with the model, but she was more than able to fight them off.

He respected both Mari and Diana but wondered just why was it he felt…burdened by that as well.

The Master Chief shook his head for the moment and replied.

"I'll do in on my own time okay Cortana?"

"All right Chief. Just don't take too long, there's always the old saying that there's a limit to how long one can wait."

…

Back on Earth…

Flash could not help but smile as he was now in the outskirts of his home city. Central City was one of the cities he watched out for and he considered it and it's people his heart as they were the reason he took up being the Flash in the first place. Wally West had always been dedicated to do doing the right thing even though he admits that he still felt that he was too much of a clown in private, but he did not let that bother him too much as he decided to quickly switch to his civilian garb before John would arrive.

That was yet another reason why he was happy that he made the device he used to store his costume in a flash. As much as he was interested in zipping into Central City like he always did, he was here to give his fellow Leaguer the Spartan a chance to tour the city normally. Once he was done, he waited for the Spartan to arrive in one of his own vehicles.

And sure enough the Spartan arrived and he was on a Pelican as well, the only difference was that he was wearing only civilian clothing. John was not wearing his MJOLNIR in respect for Flash though he did have instead a specially reinforced Kevlar vest suit with ceramic plating in front, a mask, and also a modified Colt .45 pistol. These weapons were more in line with the technology of this world and at least would not be linked to him as the Spartan.

Once he was out, the Spartan moved to the back and it was there that a vehicle was released by the Pelican and soon the massive transport was off and heading back into space.

John looked at Wally to see him wearing a simple white cotton button shirt with short sleeves, a simple vest, pants, and comfortable sneakers. The man smiled at him and he gave a nod as Wally moved in a normal pace to him as he stopped the civilian Mongoose before the disguised speedster. Wally looked at the vehicle and smiled at it as he looked at every aspect of the former military ATV which was now made into a civilian ATV.

"Now this is one wicked looking ride, I'm no gear head like the others back at the station but I know good machinery when I see it. This would be based on one of the UNSC vehicles right?"

"Yes, used for scouting and rapid assault though speed's the only defense."

"Yeah, I can see that, but for today we can take it to the city, besides, my relatives are dying to see me again."

"They know you're the Flash right?"

Wally nodded in agreement to that and smiled.

"Yeah, at first I thought that they were going to freak out about that, but they took it in and even encouraged me to do what I could for Central City while I had them. I might be immature to some and I am new at this whole hero thing, but you can't fault a guy for having his heart in the right place."

John nodded to that as they got on the ATV and soon moved into Central City, at first it appeared like most cities he had seen before in this Earth. Nowhere near the same as the cities in the UNSC held Colonies before the Insurrection and the Covenant War, but looked nice enough. He however noted that there was actually a statue of Flash in one of the nearby parks. He raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing until they arrived at the place where Flash's family were staying at.

He took notice of other things in the City as well, it seemed normal and no doubt was well watched by it's police force and not just Flash. He then noted other things in the city that seemed to denote to him that Flash was a lot more public than even Superman to some degree. There were toys on stands that had Flash on them, posters, and more. This was something he had not expected nor had he seen that sort of thing happening to either him or Diana which did not bother him.

Once they arrived at Flash's place, thanks to his directions, the two got off the Mongoose as John keyed off the ignition and also locked the vehicle down. They both moved to the house and out came some kids and they shouted out Flash's civilian name.

"Uncle Wally!"

"Hey there guys!"

Wally scooped up the first child and lifted him up while the other child was now hugging him on the waist. The Spartan said nothing as he watched his fellow Leaguer be with his family. It reminded him somewhat of his time in Smallville with Clark's adoptive family and his cousin Kara and it was not long before he saw an attractive woman who hugged Wally as soon as he placed down the young boy.

"Wally, nice to see you finally slowed down enough to see your family."

Wally grinned about that and replied to his sister in law.

"Sorry about that, being in the League is not an easy thing to do, but at least I have some pretty good company to be with. Here's one of them right now."

The group turned and there was none other than John himself, the Spartan nodded a bit and it was here that the young boy spoke to Wally.

"Uncle Wally, who is he?"

"The man before you Cody, is the Master Chief. One of my fellow League members and one of the best soldiers I have worked with"

…

Later…

John was currently looking over the house and he could not help but notice that a large portion of the house had a lot of pictures and he could see that there was a lot of…atmosphere in the whole house. He saw the certificate that showed Wally being a Police officer who worked in their labs and he was a certified chemist. This was something that one would not have expected from Flash since he was something of a prankster.

At the moment, Wally was currently talking to his nephews and telling them of what he had dealt with while being part of the League, and John could see the animated way he was going at it. He shook his head a bit and could not help but wonder just what was Cortana going to say if she had the chance to see Wally like this.

"You seem to be deep in thought."

John turned and saw that there was Wally's sister in law and he replied.

"Just looking at the way he lived his life, it must be hard in trying to keep his identity a secret."

"Oh yeah, his nephews were a real difficulty since there is the fact that they are kids, and loved to talk. It took a lot of work to finally convince them that if they talked, some bad people might go after him so if they don't want their uncle to be in trouble, don't talk about what Uncle Wally does as the Flash."

John nodded a bit at that and the Spartan did not comment much as it was not long before lunbch was ready. He spotted the massive amount of food and could not help but raise an eyebrow at the fact that all of that food was for Wally of all things. Then again, he had managed to finally read the file Cortana had made on Flash.

"Apparently the accident that had given Wally his powers in that accident in the Police lab in Central City had affected his metabolism. The effect was that the longer Flash used his speed, the greater his body would consume all manner of fuel in his body. This naturally meant he could lose vital sugars, vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and liquids at a faster rate than most if not all people.

This was why he was able to consume so much food and drink and what would normally be considered impossible to eat by any standards, even those of his fellow Spartans was a snack in the eyes of Wally. Kelly would have enjoyed needling Flash for his appetites and having s speed contest with him and he had a feeling that even if she would lose to Wally, she would get along well with the speedster. The memory of his long time friend was a bit hard on John as he had no idea if she was alive, as well as the other members of Blue Team.

All he could hope for was when he got back to the UNSC in his reality, he would get some word on what happened to them. And if they were still alive along with seeing if the other Spartans made it back. For now he was focused on enjoying his time with the members of the Justice League that he was part of and make the most of his situation while here in this reality. It was not long before the Spartan was soon joining the family and Flash to dinner and he was once more treated to the sight of Wally pigging out and making his nephews laugh at his antics.

It was an impressive thing to see in a certain way how Flash seemed to be at ease with his family, in the same manner that he was with those who were his allies, family, and friends. And it was clear to John that Flash relished his time with his family and considering the life he led, it was something that he had expect since there was no telling just how things were going to turn out. The dinner was expensive no doubt and it made him wonder just how Flash's family managed to buy the supplies they needed.

…

As the days passed, John and Wally were developing bonds with one another, John while exasperated at times with Wally's flirting, and immaturity, could not help but be amused at his antics down to earth nature, openness, and compassion. And for Wally, while he did not at times like John for being too stiff and formal, laughed it up when John showed his dry wit and sense of humor, as well as his compassionate side and his love of sports.

It was a surprise for Wally to learn that John was a big fan of a variety of sports, some of which were native to both his reality and their own. The speedster expressed interest in playing Gravball with the Chief to see if it was as cool as John made it out to be. And when they played basketball in private, even when he used his speed, John countered with his own skills and experience. One thing was certain in Wally's mind, if John had not been a Spartan, he would have been one hell of an athlete.

All that in the speedster's view was a complete change compared to the battle hardened Spartan he had worked with before. And it was a nice thing to him.

The rest of the time he spent with Flash was going to the place where he worked and meeting his friends in Central City's Police force who to the Spartan's confusion had not managed to figure out that their chemist friend was the Flash. But he naturally kept silent about the whole thing.

When there were signs of Wally's own gallery of villains moving about, John decided not to interfere and followed to watch Wally in action to see how he handled being a hero on his own. The Spartan could see that while Flash was not the most skilled hero, he had potential to be a great hero on his own right, and his heart was in the right place and at times, that made the difference.

He also saw that the people did indeed care for Flash and he had a feeling that Flash was going to play a good role in the future of the League. He was sure that there was no full promise that Flash was without flaws, but he guessed that it was the reason that people were all different. The flaws worked well with the good parts to make a complete person. The villains were not too powerful in his mind but they were not to be underestimated and there had been times he would have wanted to intervene, but he made no move as he was there to see how Flash handled things on his own.

Flash had in his mind a lot of potential as a hero and as long as he remained down to earth, idealistic, and connected to the people, he would always keep his focus on helping the people. That was something that John could respect since he himself never considered himself a superior being and cared more for the lives of civilians and fellow soldiers as well as his fellow Spartans than his own. That was why he was willing to go deep into suicidal missions to ensure that he could help prevent the unnecessary loss of life. He saw the same traits in Flash as he could have used his powers for his own ends and not care what others thought, and while there was chance that he might, most of Wally's career as Flash was for the protection of the people.

These facts were more than enough to convince John that Wally was very much a hero in his own right despite his antics. And he would no doubt be a strong part of the League and become a true hero in his own time with them.

And he made sure to tell Wally that and since the speedster knew that John was not the kind of person to lie to him, he could help but be a bit embarrassed by the praise being given to him by his partner in the League. It was not often one got praise from a man who was not only a super soldier, but by all rights was a hero of great stature so Wally was happy for the praise though not too sure yet if he was ready to accept it.

…

The last day…

John and Wally were currently looking at the city area while they were at the central park, and as far as the Spartan could see, Flash was something of a celebrity in his city. There were statues there of him as well as toy stores selling dolls of him as well as t-shirts, treats and more. It was rather surprising to the Spartan since such hero worship was utterly unheard of where he came from. Even when the Spartan IIs were revealed to the public during the war, they were never this recognized, then again, they were usually doing black ops, and he was not the kind of person that enjoyed being in the spotlight, as well as being honored for something that was his sworn duty. Flash enjoyed it and at times was a bit too excessive, but he could see that the hero worship was genuine in the eyes of the people and that was something that he could respect.

As they moved to the bench, Wally looked at the families that were playing there in the fields and also the people who were smiling as he spoke to John.

"It's nice to see people happy, it makes being a hero all worthwhile."

"I can see that."

Wally then thought of something and spoke.

"By the way, John, I have been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"What were people thinking about you and the others? I mean sure you guys were seen as heroes and protectors, but I can bet not everyone was on your side right?"

John normally would not speak of it as such a thing was considered a military secret, but he knew that the League were all right and his team mates. Flash had proven himself a good person at heart, immature maybe, a major flirt, and had an appetite to put an entire platoon of hungry marines to shame, but a good person nevertheless. Besides, he could already see that Flash was well respected and admired by others though he could bet that some people might try to take advantage of him as well so he might as well help him out.

"Well, not everyone trusted us, the children who's parents were Insurrectionists used to sing a poem about how they should be behave and be careful or else we show up in armor and take everything they have just like what we did to Colonel Watts."

"Who's this Watts?"

"Watts was considered one of the leaders of the Insurrection and one of the more successful ones, it was even worse since he used to be a Colonel in the UNSC. Most of the people who were supporters of the Insurrection considered him a folk hero, but to everyone in the UNSC, he was the bastard and even though the Insurrection was placed down, he and his cohorts continued attack military and civilian ships and took them as well. My team and I went after him and caught him to be taken to a military tribunal. And that was our first mission as Spartans as well"

Flash listened to that as John continued.

"The Innies as we called them even went as far as to use a cocktail of drugs to try and take me and the others out. That drug was known to us as Rumble drug."

"Really?"

"Yes, it was their attempt to fight us on an even field, unfortunately the drug was toxic to the user, it made them powerful and resistant to pain, but also corroded the body and poisoned the mind. Anyone taking usually would end up dying hours later and also suffer from a loss of recognition and attack anything and anyone. Usually those who did take it to fight us ended up doing more harm to their fellows than us. But even in the UNSC we were not exactly welcomed either."

"How so?"

"Some of the Marines, Navy, and Army personnel usually were in fear of us, or were not too keen on working with us, some even called us inhuman cyborgs or as 'Section 3 freaks'. The ODSTs were the more vocal ones and there was a reason behind it, though I am not sure hearing it is good thing for you."

"Was it bad?"

"Let's just say that I ended up killing two of them and crippling the others. I was only fourteen then and fresh out of augmentations when it happened, I tried to convince them that there was no need to fight, but one thing led to another and that's what happened."

Wally gave a look of disgust as he pictured the scene, four burly, muscled guys attacking someone way younger than they were. Normally that would have looked wrong in so many levels, but knowing what John was able to do even at that age, meant that he could easily see how John had won the fight.

"And that's why there's bad blood between the ODSTs and the Spartans?"

"Right, doesn't stop us from working together with them though, and there were some ODSTs who did not see things in that way. Major Silva was the worst at the time, as he considered me and my fellow Spartans products of an experiment that should never happen, that we were useless because we were less than human and could not adapt. And he stated that in the end the war was going to be won by REAL humans, meaning his ODSTs and the rest of the UNSC."

Wally growled a bit at that and had a hard look in his eyes, a rare thing to see for the normally goofy and fun loving speedster.

"That's just nuts! You both are fighting the same enemy for thirty years! I doubt that the Covenant a the time cared for who or what you guys were."

John nodded in agreement and replied.

"True, and there were other officers in the UNSC who saw us as mere weapons, the real one who was a thorn on our side though we only said that in private or with people we trusted was Colonel James Ackerson. He was the UNSC Army liaison with ONI and happened to be part of the same Section III area that Dr. Halsey was in. He was arrogant and condescending even to higher ranking officers, and also happened to be a rival of Dr. Halsey."

"A rival?"

"Yeah, he headed his own projects in ONI and usually competed for funds with Dr. Halsey at the time, so it was natural that he would develop a rivalry and dislike for her, and in extension us Spartans. The real show of that was when the testing for the Mark V MJOLNIR was underway, he changed the rules of the whole exercise."

John then explained to Flash just what Ackerson had done in the course, and needless to say, Flash was utterly outraged as he understood quickly just what Ackerson had tried to do. He could not believe that such an arrogant bastard had tried to actually kill John AND Cortana all because of his pride and arrogance. After knowing just what John had endured and sacrificed for the defense of humanity, to know that tis guy tried to actually kill him outright filled Flash with disgust.

"If I ever got my hands on that guy, I'd do worse than give him a pie in the face. Count on it, I can't believe he was that stupid to actually risk so much when you have other priorities Chief."

John nodded as they managed to signal a passing snack cart and bought some hotdogs with mustard, mayo, cheese, ketchup and relish. Once they got their food and paid for it, John replied while enjoying the bites.

"I can't blame you for that, but we also happened to have allies in the UNSC, Ackerson and Silva were not the majority actually, and the Marines who served alongside us also vouched for us so it was not all bad. One of our best supporters was Lord Terrance Hood, head of UNSC HIGH COM, he actually gave Ackerson a serious dressing down when he called Dr. Halsey incapable and my fellow Spartans freaks."

John took out a tablet and pressed a key while attaching some headphones to the device, it was a recording device that was made by Cortana. She had downloaded a file pertaining to Ackeron's comments in from of the Security Committee and Lord Hood himself. Flash looked at the image of the man in question and listened to Lord Hood.

'Doctor Halsey and her Spartans deserve the **utmost** respect, Colonel. And if you wish to keep your newly acquired position on the Security Council, you **WILL** show them that respect, or I will personally kick you from here to Melbourne. Those "freaks" have more confirmed kills than any three divisions of ODSTs and have garnered every major citation the UNSC awards. Those "freaks" have personally saved my life twice, as well the lives of most of the senior staff here at HighCom. Keep your bigotry in check, Colonel. Do you understand?'

As soon as the file ended, Flash busted a gut in laughter and looked at John who managed a slight smile, he never showed it but be liked it when he heard about the incident. Ackerson was an ass as far as he knew but he was not totally evil as he had actually died fighting with his fellow Army personnel on Mars. The speedster sighed a bit after managing to relax a bit and spoke once more.

"At least you guys had friends in high places."

"True enough, there were other officers who were in full support of us Spartans and while we were not as famous, we certainly made an impression."

Wally grinned at that and replied.

"I bet you guys did, anyway, what about the other Marines, what did they make of you."

John thought it over and decided to humor Wally as he played the files pertaining to the comments most Marines and military personnel made when he was around. This included their comments when he traded weapons with them and also took the time to take stock of things and come up with plans. Needless to say, Wally was laughing once more as he heard the comments, namely that of the female Marines, and the one that got him trying not to barf due to excessive laughter was the one made by a Marine Corporal named Palmer who was rather nice to the eyes in the Battle of New Mombasa.

'Chief, I believe that I can honestly say that even though you are an honest-to-Buddha one-man death squad, and that if you were to ask nicely I'd give up my lucrative career in the Corps and start pumping out your babies just as fast as you could put them in me, there is no way I am gonna run across fifty goddamn meters of open terrain covered by three Jackal snipers that I can see just to jump into an open vehicle. Throwing myself on a goddamn grenade makes more sense than that.'

As soon as it was over, Wally wiped a tear from his eye at the laughter and looked at John with a grin and replied.

"Heh, you certainly moved up in the world Chief, if this Marine had managed to see you now, I think she might have very well done what she said she would do."

John gave Wally a slight smile and a shake of the head as he replied.

"Yeah, I suppose, but she went ahead with the plan anyway, she was a good Marine, and if she did retire, then I wish her the best."

Wally nodded and as they finished their food, the two heroes moved on and Wally was the one who guided the Spartan through the city.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Here we are, the chapter with John bonding with Flash/Wally West is done and placed into the list of completed chapters, though I hope that it is all right for the readers. I have been very much in the dark on updates for my Halo stories and getting back into the habit after a lot of passed time is not easy. I hope that you call can forgive me for that as I try to get back into the habit. And since this chapter was about done, I figured I might as well post it, I have no idea who are the relatives of the DCAU version of the Justice League Flash so I just had to wing it, so forgive me if I am a bit in the dark about that sort of thing.

This is the second of what I call the bonding arc and next on the list is John working with Batman in Gotham and learning about the dark Knight's life in Gotham. Naturally he will be rubbing elbows with the rest of the Wayne family, namely Alfred, Dick, Barbra, and Tim. He will also help if he can on matters in Gotham and rub elbows with Gotham PD.

I also hope to have this be the chapter where he socializes with none other than Zatanna herself and this might be a way for John to get a taste of the supernatural. This will prove to be something of a test for John since you have to recall that John is from a reality where magic is considered as mere sleight of hand and also the work of writers and artists.

This will also help John learn how to fight threats that are supernatural or magical, and possibly also make him establish a connection with Zatanna as well. You can bet that it will be an interesting meeting considering the two people in question.

Here is a scene you might like to see.

…

As Bruce got those files placed away, he looked to John who was currently in his MJOLNIR minus the helmet and his MA5C Assault Rifle on the side with the safety on. Having the Spartan there in his base was a bit new to him since having a man with a gun with him was a bit odd. He decided to ask John what was his plan now.

"Chief, I've done my work and since it is going to be morning, you have any plans?"

John thought it over and had an idea as he took his backpack and spoke.

"How about a game to pass some time?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow and spoke.

"What sort of game?"

John then took out the board and replied with a slight smile.

"How good are you at chess?"

…

See you all soon!


	15. Chapter 15

Justice League: Spartan Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to DCAU or Halo so don't send me the legal eagles okay?

Chapter 10

The City of the Bat…

( ): Thoughts:

…

In one of New York's business streets…

"Come on Mr. Townsend, please be reasonable."

"Shut up!"

It was a high end drama as a fully stressed out man was currently standing on the ledge of a twenty story office building, he would move back and move around while shouting in anger, and when the police tried to get to him, he aimed his knife at his throat and forced the back. The whole situation was pretty tense for the police and the people nearby and while this did happen every now and then, it hardly meant that people got desensitized by it. The police cars there along with a number of fire fighters and rescue personnel had grown since the call came out.

It was at this point that the Spartan and Wonder Woman arrived on the scene, both of them had been flying nearby when they saw what was happening and they decided to see if they could help, though they had landed at a different direction. Once both heroes landed nearby, the police officers nearby were a bit more relaxed as Diana moved to one of the female officers.

"What is going here sister?"

The woman, a brunette was a bit confused by that but after reading the file on Diana knew that it was her way of greeting women relaxed and replied.

"We have a serious case of possible suicide here, we got a 911 call about some disturbances in the business sector and we found this. So far, Mr. Blake has not done anything to endanger anyone or himself, but even from here, I can tell that he is going to be losing it soon."

Diana turned to John and spoke to her partner.

"Should we intervene?"

John shook his head at that.

"Not directly, this looks like something the police can handle, we will have to support them for this situation. Wonder Woman, can you head up to the nearby building and describe to me just what the situation up there is again?"

Diana nodded and soon was up on the nearby building and began to describe the scene to the Spartan.

"The man appears to be carrying a short blade, similar to a paper cutter knife, not intimidating at first glance, but dangerous if used right. The man is close to the edge, at least several moments walking distance from the edge."

John and Cortana began to run through the scenarios and John finally asked Diana to see if the distance between the man and the edge was too far for the police to reach him. Diana took the time to run the situation through her head and replied.

"If they move fast enough, they should be able to reach him, what do you and Cortana have in mind Spartan?"

"I think we can use TTRs on the man, it will the best way to deal with him, better return here Diana, he might not have seen you yet, but no sense spooking the man."

Diana did not argue and soon joined the Spartan as John took out a clip filled with TTRs and locked it into a custom made Colt. 45 Auto Pistol and then spoke to one of the police.

"This weapon is loaded with a clip filled with special anesthetic rounds, give it to the police there in the building to try and take the man down without harming him."

The police officer in question looked at the Spartan as if the man had suddenly grown another head. But he decided to take the risk and moved in to give the weapon to the police officers there. As soon as that was done, both heroes held back, keeping to their promise to the Police Commissioner of New York not to interfere in police affairs unless it was dealing with situations that regular police actions and even SWAT forces could be too risky., or if circumstances forced them to take action It was not long before the situation turned ugly and the man decided to kill himself, he was going to move to the edge and cut his throat and allow his body to fall.

John and Diana were ready to move but soon the word came to the ground that the man had been stopped with the weapon John handed the police earlier. The police had checked him and were pleased to see that the man had been knocked unconscious and had not harmed himself in the slightest.

…

Later…

John walked up the paramedics who now was tending to the sleeping man who had only minutes ago threatened to jump off the twenty story business building he used to work in. Next to John was Diana who looked at the sleeping man with some level of worry, no doubt unsure why a man was willing to kill himself over a business matter. Sure she had heard of things like this before in her history lessons back in Themyscira, but she had thought that with such modern things and with all the advancements in Man's world such things were unnecessary.

The Spartan spoke to the woman checking the man's vitals,

"How's he looking ma'am?"

The woman looked up as John and admitted she was a bit intimidated by the Spartan. That was to be expected considering how the man looked in full armor and carried weapons. As was obvious as he cradled one of those high tech looking assault rifles on his back, and a mean looking pistol on his left thigh plate armor. But seeing that he had given the police a non lethal sedative to use on the guy and knowing he was a good man underneath the armor helped her relax.

"He's relaxing now, that sedative you gave the police to use on him helped, plus I have to admit that having you both around was assuring."

Diana then spoke kindly to the female medical professional.

"Do you have any idea why someone would willingly do this Sister?"

The woman was a bit confused by that but decided not to comment and replied to Diana's question.

"Stress and bad decisions most likely ma'am, people who take this line of work have to manage their stress, but it gets really bad if their decisions don't work out the way they hoped. And possibly the loss of whatever they had tried to do can really break a man or woman too. Believe me, we had plenty of cases like this a lot and it can be really sad to hear about. Anyway, we'll take him to the hospital now for treatment."

Diana nodded as she watched the medics take the man away and she was impressed by the smooth and efficient way the female medic took care of her patient alongside her male partner who had been checking the man's vitals alongside her. Such efficiency was very comforting and made her feel that with such talent, the women here in Man's World, despite their strange habits, namely with it came to men, were very different from what she had been taught back home. She turned to John and spoke to him to see if he knew more about these sorts of things.

"Is this the risk of being in business in Man's world Spartan?"

"I guess, business men and women have to make decisions that can have a lot of positive effects if the decisions in question work. But it can have adverse results if the decisions don't work. Let's go talk to the officer in charge."

The two heroes moved to the lead officer, a man by the name of Tyler Harris as he saw the heroes walk up to him. He smiled at their arrival and was thankful that they had kept their promise not to interfere in police affairs when the police could handle it themselves, and only provide support. The sedative they gave certainly made restraining the man a lot less risky, especially the high stress of the situation and the risk of him becoming violent.

"Thanks for what you and Wonder Woman did Spartan, what can I do for you?"

"You know anything about the man sir?"

Tyler looked over the man's papers which had been given to him by some of his co-workers and spoke to the heroes.

"Yeah, name's Francis Townsend, one of the managers in the Brooke and Flanders Trading Corp, no doubt assigned to the New York office since the company's actually based in California. Anyway, the guy's got no outstanding warrants and has no run ins with the law or anything, and as far as we figure, no ties to any crime families or whatnot. Has a wife, two kids and seems pretty average guy."

John thought about that and spoke to Tyler.

"Anything else you're willing to divulge sir?"

"That's pretty much it right now, the brass will want to get more data so we're going to get a warrant to go into his office records and if we can, his home. If there was something that made this poor fellow go off the deep end, we'll find out about it soon enough. I'll need to get back to the station so I guess we'll see each other soon."

Both heroes nodded as John activated the flight pack on his MJOLNIR as Wonder Woman took off as well; both of them flew side by side as Wonder Woman spoke to her partner.

"It's hard to imagine he was willing to kill himself, he has a family and yet he was contemplating throwing himself to his death. Why would anyone do that?"

"Bad decision or worse Wonder Woman, we can't be the judge of every person who seems to be on the edge of losing himself or herself, we'll let the police handle this one."

Cortana then chimed in as she spoke through the MJOLNIR's speaker systems.

"I am on with John here Diana, the company's pretty clean when it comes to having illegal connections, so it's possibly stress, a personal matter, or something else entirely. And since the police have this case, we'll not disturb them on this situation since they are more than able to handle what appears to be within their jurisdiction. We do have an agreement with the Commissioner so we have to honor it since we arrived late on the scene."

Wonder Woman nodded at that as she continued to fly alongside John, and it was here that she spoke to John as well.

"I am going to be taking a different route today; it's going to be my first work day in the library after all so I will see you and Cortana later."

"Understood Wonder Woman, see you soon."

The Amazon smiled as she soon took off in another direction, leaving John and Cortana on their own as they began to patrol the city. Cortana provided John with a map of the entire area of New York as well as 3D imaging to make sure that while Diana was getting ready for her days at the Library. The Spartan and his A.I companion and long time partner decided to have a private conversation of their own.

"Are you sure that you want to do that Chief? You've already gotten yourself focused on being part of the League and also helping out the NYPD with Diana. You're going to be really adding more to the workload that you already have along with us hoping to find a way home at some point and time."

"I know, but it can help the image of the League more, and it would make it less likely that we're going to be hit by negative criticism."

"You used to not care about that sort of thing Chief, why the sudden change?"

"Let's just say that while I dislike being in the media, I have to accept the fact that sometimes they can help. After all, we did the same thing back home."

Cortana knew that John had a point, when the UNSC fought the Covenant, the morale of the UNSC forces was always hit hard. The technological and numerical disadvantages were hard on them and the morale of the people was always low. So in an effort to lift the spirit of the UNSC, the Spartan II Program was unveiled and the victories of the Spartans were revealed when it was in a major battle. And of course the Spartan MIA Protocol was created to prevent the public and the armed forces to learn of the deaths of his brothers and sisters. It was hard, but it was the only option that they had at the time.

But this was a different kettle of fish and the idea that John had in mind was filled with some level of risk. She however knew that John never did anything without reason and she did trust him a great deal so no sense not supporting her long time partner. That did not mean of course that she was not going to voice her opinion on the whole thing.

"I know. But let's just hope this does not come back to bite us in the neck."

"You and me both, so let's go get this over with."

"Don't forget big guy, smile for the cameras."

…

The World Assembly…

The assembled leaders were busy in a discussion pertaining to the status of the various nation's current military forces. The loss of the global nuclear stockpile after the Imperium invasion had left the nations somewhat short handed when it pertained to weapons. But with the people still clamoring for nuclear disarmament despite the military forces of each nation asking for more funding, they were in a deadlock. So it was naturally that all of them were surprised to see the Spartan walk in and the speaker was able to notice that and spoke to one of the heroes of New York.

"Spartan, what brings you here?"

"I would like to make a request of the assembled leaders, it will not take too much time sir."

The leaders looked at one another and some manner of discussion was going on as the Spartan came to the forefront of the assembled dignitaries of the world. As soon as he had their attention he spoke to them of his request…needles to say, that got their attention really quickly as the ramifications of the Spartan's plans came to full light. One of them, the representative of the United States was the first to speak to the Spartan/

"Let me see if we all heard that right, you wish to offer your services to the World Assembly's peace keeping forces?"

"Yes sir, I plan to help out with the maintenance of world security when I am not working on keeping the people of New York safe alongside Wonder Woman as well as dealing with serious threats alongside the Justice League. If there is nothing that requires me to intervene then I wish to use my time wisely and since I was trained by the military, I feel that my skills would be better used in a military situation."

The leader spoke a bit more until the same Admiral who spoke to him before spoke once again.

"Spartan, doesn't this affect your standing in the League?"

"No sir, this is a personal decision that I have come to the conclusion of being a beneficial path for all parties. As I have stated, I am a military man and as such, helping in military matters that can help promote peace will be more suited to my skill set and experience. I am already well versed in the rules of engagement and I will not use my military skills and technology against non combatants unless by same rules of engagement they become a threat to friendly military personnel. "

"Will you be willing to allow the peacekeeping forces to improve their performance in their duties?"

"Within reason yes, some of my technology that can be used for medical support and logistics can be used. However, as I had stated before when the League became public, there will be limits to the technology I will give as I do not have intentions of trading technology that could be used for military purposes which in turn could be used by rogue elements and stolen by criminal organizations."

The Admiral thought it over and spoke once again, intent on getting as much as he could from the man.

"What exactly will be your role if we allow this?"

"I will serve as support for peace keeping forces and to deal with threats that could be called up by rogue elements in the countries were the peace keeping forces are stationed. That support role will be not just medical and logistics, but military intelligence to locate threats that might be missed. There is also the possibility of Meta-human forces that might be brought into the conflict and if such a threat appears I will be willing to face them to help protect the peace keeping forces."

"Meta-human threats?"

"Yes sir! As you and the Joint Chiefs are aware, there is an increasing number of Meta-humans in the world along with other threats from human forces and otherwise. In the past when there were not many Meta-humans, regular forces can handle missions and take the risks, but as more appear, the risks become higher. There is the fact that some of these meta-humans could hire themselves out as mercenaries or also have their own reasons for causing damage, death, and destruction. I am in no way insinuating that the military is incapable of fighting them as I have seen soldiers in the UNSC who despite not being super soldiers fight and accomplish missions with their own talents, experience, technology and training. I have no doubt that the military here can do the same, I only wish to help my fellow soldiers do their jobs and get home safely, this is even more so should they face threats that might be too much for regular military forces to handle alone and could result in massive loss of life."

"Is there any other reason you are willing to do this Spartan? And also, are you ready for the fact that you might be forced to take human life?"

:"In answer to your first question sir, I have no other reason other than doing my duty to defend humanity even from itself. Despite my abilities as a Super-soldier and the technology I have I have never seen myself as a superior being to my fellow soldiers. My job is to defend humanity and I care for the lives of fellow soldiers and civilians more than my own sir. As to the second question, I am aware of the fact that in doing this, I will be forced to take life and I am willing to bear that responsibility. I am a soldier Admiral and I in truth have taken life before in my line of duty to the UNSC, but I do not take any pleasure in taking life. I do it because it is my job and I aim to protect the men and women I serve with and to protect those who fall as civilians who are not hostile to me and the people I work with."

"I will not force this before the Assembly however, it is entirely up to the dignitaries here if they will give their consent for this request of mine. If they choose not to allow it, I will respect their decision and return to my duties with the League and protecting New York alongside Wonder Woman and the NYPD."

The leaders were silent at this and there was a lot of things for them to speak about with one another. The speaker then watched as John moved aside and he looked at the Spartan who was back to full attention as he spoke.

"You have given us quite a lot to talk about Spartan, the Assembly will take your request under advisement and we will make our decision in due time."

"Understood sir, May I request permission from the Assembly to take my leave?"

The leaders nodded and the Spartan offered a crisp military salute to the people there, namely to the military delegates who returned the salute. With that John left and that gave the dignitaries the chance to decide if they would take this offer or not. They had to admit that of al the things they were expecting from the super soldier from another reality, his willingness to help in peace keeping efforts was not one of them. At least in the sense that he would willingly subject himself to the command of the World Assembly, there were plenty of things that could come from this, both good and bad. But at least they knew where they stood on matters like this one so the were not going to be blindly stumbling in the dark.

…

In the Watch-tower…

Bruce looked at the image of John's announcement just as John came in from the Dawn that was docked with the Watch-tower. He had to admit that the idea of the Spartan being part of the World Assembly's peace keeping forces was unexpected, but in hindsight, it was a good move. John did mention that he knew that most military forces in his reality by now would have to be dealing with rebuilding and reconstruction efforts, along with fighting pockets of Loyalist forces alongside the Separatists and also fighting with any still active Insurrectionist forces. So in his case, he might as well help the world he was in by keeping the peace.

It would be a good boost to the image of the League as the people could see one of them actively helping in keeping the peace in hotspots in the world. Plus the fact that the Spartan was a member of the military, he would be able to handle the stress in combat and conflict when it would ever erupt. The proof of that was already known to the world due to his participation in the Imperium invasion before. It therefore would help the League show a more international face since most of the time, they all were focused on matters in their own home cities and there was the fact that Diana and John could and did share the load in protecting New York.

One of them could remain in the city while the other could go and do what the peace keeping forces needed. And he did keep in mind that with the numerous meta-human villains around, the chance of them being hired by corrupt heads of state could be high and the military forces of the World Assembly might need an edge. He however hoped that John and Cortana would not be called on often. And it was not because he doubted that they could do it, seeing them pull miracle after miracle in battles against the Covenant, the Insurrection, and the Flood convinced him that they were more than able to do anything. It was due to the fear of escalation as there was always a chance that there would be an increase in the way the bad guys would fight. He never took chances and that was why he was happy not to have the others in Gotham since if there came new meta-human heroes then the bad guys would make moves to be better armed and equipped.

He turned as John walked in and spoke to the Spartan.

"Managed to get a look at that speech you just gave in the World Assembly."

"I take it you don't approve?"

"Not entirely, your argument made sense there, the more Meta-humans who appear, there's always a chance that some of them would become dangerous threats to others. And having someone who can give the military a fighting chance against such beings is a good thing even though they do have some new options for battle. There is the fact that the bad guys might up the ante when you and Cortana appear though."

"I understand that, and I will be ready to deal with it when it comes."

Batman nodded a bit at that and then had an idea.

"I am planning to have some work done in Waynetech, namely in how some of the scientists plan to create a slightly larger Hydrogen engine for more robust vehicles. You and Cortana can come there and make sure that the plans don't wind up being stolen by anyone who might try to get them. I trust the security in Waynetech but you can never be too careful. "

John thought about it and Cortana had to agree that it sounded like a very good idea. They had never been to Gotham themselves and though the various criminals and dangers there did not make it all that appealing, it was still a chance to see how Bruce himself operated while being his civilian self and Batman. Plus it would give them a feel of the place and see how Batman operated both in costume and out of it.

"Sounds like a good idea, I'll get things organized on my end."

"Good, I'll be outside of New York and I'll bring you to the cave later."

…

Bruce was now in the outskirts of Gotham and in his car to see the Spartan finally arrive and in a Warthog no less, though in this case it was not armed with the massive machine gun, Gauss cannon, or the missile rack. And that was something Bruce was happy for and since the vehicle was colored in it's usual scheme, it would not be too well known, namely since John usually did not use the Warthogs despite the power such vehicles could bring to the fight. John looked at the Bat-mobile and nodded a bit as Bruce spoke towards the Spartan, looking at the gun.

"Do you always bring a weapon?"

"Force of habit and training, don't worry, I packed TTRs in the clips, carry only live rounds if the situation calls for it."

"Let's hope it does not get to that, this is my city and my rules, so you'll have to follow me."

John nodded at that as he could understand Bruce's concerns.

"I will, I won't make a move unless situations demand otherwise."

Bruce could tell that John would not budge on the matter, but he was alright with the situation as John was always very focused on the task at hand and followed authority. The fact he was willing to follow his authority, a civilian by his standards AND a vigilante at that was a good thing. All he could hope for was that John did not get involved with the villains he dealt with in a regular basis. That was due to the fact that being who he was, John would not hesitate to use lethal force on many of them., and there was a part of him that could understand that desire to use lethal force. Lord knows he had to deal with such temptations every night he was out on patrol.

It was a daily battle for Bruce to not cross the line and use lethal force, to resort to killing the criminals that prowled the streets. There would always be those who think ending their lives was a solution in the right direction, and even he was tempted by that. How many times had he felt the urge to stop Joker permanently to end his cruelty, to stop him from using people like they were things to play on his amusement? How many other insane people who commit such heinous acts had made him privately wish to stop them cold? How many crooks and gangs, and crime families could be finally put away if he had just used lethal intent?

The temptations were there, but he resisted them every day, it was not the least bit easy as it was so strong. He knew the old sayings 'one's pound of flesh', 'an eye for an eye' all of those things. Yet he did not take that path for his own reasons, one being the most glaring, the one who killed his parents, it would have been so simple to either do it himself or hire someone else to end the man, after all he had the power, money, and the motive. But what would that prove?

His father and mother, both of them believed that helping people was the right thing to do, and no matter how hard things were, or what threatened them before their deaths, they believed in it. They were not above defending one's family but felt that taking a life for a life would not change things, and only turn you into something your not. And they were right, even if he did do the deed himself or hired others to do it, would it bring his parents back? What would make him any different from the criminal leaders who without any hesitation send their own underlings to kill innocent people if he did it? And what would happen to his family's legacy if he, the last of the Wayne family who gave their lives to help Gotham if he was willing to take lives?

He was only eight when they died but he was able to understand what was the downside of revenge soon after. That was why no matter how tempted he was to resort to it, he would not ever break or change into taking lives. He would never be able to face his parents' graves every day he could spare for them if he did become a person who took life. And many of the criminals he dealt with were not always unreasonable, though he was not blind that some would revert back to their criminal ways. He was not blind to it, nor was he a fool to it as well. But he was set on his path and he would see it to the end.

That was what tied him and John as one in his mind as they both made their way to Wayne Manor and towards the Batcave entrance.

John had no say in his being taken into the Spartan II Program, and what had been done to him was evil and cruel as well. He might not have lost his parents and was alive, but he lost all hope of a normal life and was now used as an augmented soldier by his people's government. He would have had every right to rebel and escape from the UNSC and go back to his family. Failing that and knowing that in the eyes of those who once knew him that he was dead, he could have done many things to avenge himself. But he chose to carry on and believe that the mission of the Program was just. And in a way, it was as they had played a key role in the wars that befell them.

Those thoughts were in the Dark Knight's mind as he and John finally entered the base of operations while it was still deep at night over Gotham. Once they got into the place, John moved his Warthog to be parked a good distance from the Bat-mobile without blocking to driveway behind them. He got off the vehicle and studied the cave headquarters of Batman as the Dark Knight

…

In the Batcave…

"Not bad."

John commented as he looked at the cave and could see the equipment there, he saw the various items and devices there. There were also the labs and workshops, as well as the area where Bruce wore his uniform and also the other devices he used.

Bruce did not mind as he walked over to the computer mainframe area where he did all of his work while in the Batcave. He had decided to check one more time to see if anything had come u[. Finding that there was none, he decided to take the time to speak to his partner in the League. Namely on a matter that he felt would be a good thing for the both of them to discuss.

"I have something to ask you Spartan."

"What about?"

"I am thinking of replacing the engines of the Bat-mobile, the Bat Boat, and the Bat plane. It might not be obvious but the technology of the Hydrogen engines have been of great interest to me apart from the other tech that I and my team have been using recently. Is there any need to change the designs for the engines if they are installed into the vehicles?"

John looked the designs of the vehicles over and saw that they were more than able to do so. He looked at Bruce and spoke to his partner in the Justice League.

"Do you mind if I run through some calculations?"

Bruce nodded and moved aside as the Spartan began to run the schematics. Here John showed his own skills with technology as he began to run through the schematics of the vehicles in question. He then ran through the effects of the vehicles that Batman used with the Hydrogen engines and it was all looking good so far. He then gave his opinion to the Dark Knight who waited for him to speak.

"It can be done, it might take your vehicles out of action for a while, but the engines can be installed and it should be ready for operational use."

Bruce nodded as this could help make use of the underground water supply in the Batcave, as well as allow him to use the water sources outside. This in turn would help lower the expenses in terms of purchasing fuel for the vehicles. It was here that Cortana also appeared on John's hand and she was dressed in the same virtual clothing as before, more for a sense of decency than anything else.

"Plus the engines can allow your vehicles to have a good surplus of power and you can have new equipment added as well. I think we can even try installing a smaller and more effective variant of the NNEMP Cannon into the Bat-mobile as well as the other vehicles."

Bruce was curious about that and made his question known to the Spartan and his partner AI.

"NNEMP Cannon?"

John nodded as he replied.

"That's the acronym for Non-Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Cannon one of the weapons we used during the war with the Covenant. The UNSC developed it as a means of shutting down electronic systems without resorting to dangerous means which may result in unnecessary collateral damage and casualties. It proved highly effective on the battle field and it was also used extensively in battles with Covenant forces on other worlds.."

Batman was impressed by that as he knew that there were few ways to actually create a contained and focused EM Pulse in this world. The need for such advanced power sources which at times were risky and could be tampered with prevented such technology from being made in a mass production level. The fact that there had been very few attempts to create EMP weapons in this reality of theirs added to the whole mess as the only way to make EM Pulses was with the dangerous simulation of a nuclear detonation, or the use of certain materials and sources. But somehow the UNSC developed a non nuclear EMP system and that was something that he found very interesting.

"How effective was it?"

"Very, during the Harvest Campaign, the vehicle platforms that used the NNEMP Cannon codenamed Gremlins were instrumental in shutting down Covenant armored forces for UNSC forces to take them down. They also shut down the primary defenses of Covenant facilities, and also had the effect of shutting down Energy Shields on Covenant forces armed with them, even though they did not have effects on organic targets."

Batman knew of them of course, having seen these Gremlins in action through John and Cortana's records of the UNSC-Covenant War.

"How come they were not used extensively in the war?"

Cortana took over on the explanations bit there.

"The reason was that despite them being effective, it took dedicated maintenance to keep the NNEMP operational for long periods, and also they were fairly expensive to field. The next was that the lead designer for the Gremlins was among those lost on the UNSC Spirit of Fire so there was no way for the UNSC to make the NNEMP Cannon more effective or portable and less costly to field. That and the fact that we were losing world after world meant that we had fewer resources and materials to place into making more to fill in the gaps. Plus the Covenant did learn the dangers of the Gremlins and usually deployed infantry kill teams since the Gremlin's main weapon was useless against organic units"

"Good news is that we do have the schematics and we have improved on the design to make it more accurate and effective at range. You might find that helpful for precise attacks on some of your enemies Batman. Only question is if you want us to try it out on a field test at some point in time."

"Hmmm…I'll see if I can get a test bed vehicle for us to test this NNEMP when we have the time. I'll need to do some things first so I'll leave you both alone for a minute or two."

As Bruce got those files placed away, he looked to John who was currently in his MJOLNIR minus the helmet and his MA5C Assault Rifle on the side with the safety on. Having the Spartan there in his base was a bit new to him since having a man with a gun with him was a bit odd and normally would have set his alarm bells off on overtime.

But John was an ally and he knew that John was not going to do anything foolish here along with Cortana who had gone back into the MJOLNIR.

He decided to ask John what was his plan now.

"Chief, I've done my work and since it is going to be morning, you have any plans?"

John thought it over and had an idea as he took his backpack and spoke.

"How about we have a game to pass some time?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow and spoke.

"What sort of game?"

John then took out the board and replied with a slight smile.

"How good are you at chess?"

…

Later…

Dick, Tim, and Barbara were surprised as they saw Bruce without his cowl currently sitting down on a chair in front of a table, playing chess with the one they recognized as the Spartan who had his helmet off and his MA5C on the side of the wall. Both men seemed to be very much into the game and it was definitely not the kind of game one would intrude it since both men seemed to be very intent on winning. And the last thing the rest of the 'Bat Family' wanted to do was get in the way of the match.

John for his part was enjoying the match as Batman's analytical mind was proving to be a well honed one. No doubt the man's desire to be the best was going to be a deciding factor in the match between them. And that was how John liked it as he made his move and watched Bruce countered the move as well. Both fellow League members were already going at it for an hour or so, but it seemed they were still dead even.

Until John pulled a quick move that finally beat Bruce when he was least expecting it.

"Checkmate."

Bruce smiled a bit as the move was utterly well thought out and he replied.

"Nice move there Spartan, didn't expect that, anyway, I think it's time you met the rest of the family."

John nodded as both he and Batman turned to see the assembled younger heroes. And all of them were already trying to get used to the fact that one of the League heroes was there. And the hero in question happened to be the most…controversial among them all.

Tim could not help but be awed as he looked at the mammoth human in armor. Sure he had worked with Superman before, but the Chief was a heck of a lot taller due to his armor. And couple that with the way the armor looked and his reputation, the young man was silent as he tried to find something to say to the man.

Dick could not help but feel a bit worried about having someone like the Spartan in the cave. The fact that Bruce was not wearing his cowl before the Spartan told him that he could trust the man, but that did not make it easier in any respect. The Spartan was very much known to him and he wondered just what he was doing here since his territory was New York.

Barbara Gordon herself also took in the sight of the man before her who was part of the League and apparently did not mind showing himself to the League. She had heard of the man and had spoken to Kara when they had met and while Kara had not revealed anything yet of what she knew of the Spartan, she could tell that it was serious.

The three of them recovered as the massive human was before them and Bruce introduced them.

"Master Chief, these are my partners, Tim Drake, Richard Grayson, and Barbara Gordon who are Robin, Night Wing, and Batgirl in order."

Barbara was the first to greet the Spartan and she could not help but feel a bit anxious at the sheer size of the man.

"I heard about you from Kara Master Chief, she wasn't kidding when she said you were a bit intimidating."

John merely gave a ghost of a smile at that but was very relaxed as he shook Barbara's hand. Kara had been trained by him in his time in Smallville on some combat maneuvers that she could use in a fight, not to mention how to try using her powers in a more flexible manner.

"It's the armor I guess."

Richard was next as he too shook the Spartan's hand and could not help but feel the strength there in the man's hands. The guy was dangerous looking and the aura he was releasing only served to add to the whole feeling. Dick was trained well by Bruce and so far, the Spartan was definitely well trained and no doubt had a lot of experience as well. That further reinforced to the young man the abilities he had to be a super soldier.

"You certainly are different man, how do you find Gotham so far?"

John shrugged and replied to that.

"Haven't toured the city just yet, just got here actually."

Tim was quick to comment in his own fashion.

"How do you get so big and where can I get some?"

Barbara was shocked by that and quickly admonished Tim, he might not be related to her in any way, but she did treat him like a younger brother.

"Tim!"

John merely smirked as Bruce could not help but be amused privately about the reaction of the others and John, just as Alfred came in with a tray of food and some tea,.

"Greetings Master Bruce, tea and breakfast is ready."

Bruce nodded and while he normally focused on merely getting some food for nourishment, he knew that right now he had a guest. Who also happened to be his team mate so no sense not being a proper host now was there?

…

As the gathered Bat family ate their food inside the Batcave John was still in his armor while eating some of the food that Alfred brought. He could tell that while Alfred showed the manners of a butler, he was able to see some measure of combat training. The kind of training only a Special Forces trained person would have. But he decided not to ask the man such questions as he had to do matters of his own. When Batman explained that he had planned to have the Bat-mobile's main engine replaced with the vehicle engine that used water as fuel, and possibly the other vehicles in his arsenal, the other members of the Bat family were curious. Namely Barbara Gordon who was interested to finally have her bike be a lot more efficient and not a gas guzzler since despite the fact that she could pay for her own fuel, she would like it if she did not have to pay a lot for the consumption of gas.

Even Night wing would like the idea of his own vehicles having Hydrogen engines so he would be able to save up on funds for gas. That way his finds could be spared some of the usual loss and also allow him to use what funds he no longer had to use to pay for gas for other matters.

Once they were done eating, the others asked just who he was and what was it like for John to be part of the UNSC. John was told by Batman in a prior meeting that he had not fully informed his team about the history he had, so if he told them or not was his call. He decided not to and merely give details that were not considered classified information. He also decided to introduce Cortana to the rest of the family, including Alfred himself.

Needless to say, the younger members of Batman's group, were quite surprised to see Cortana as she was at first a small figure on the Chief's hand. And then when she became human sized as she leaped off the Spartan's hand, they could not help but try to see if she was actually real and not a hologram/. Even though she was technically clothed, the AI was still very attractive at a human glance and it was natural that the younger heroes could not help themselves.

Barbara was amazed at the life like actions of Cortana while Night wing had to admit to himself privately that for an AI program, Cortana was drop dead gorgeous, but he kept that to himself, as for Tim, he could not help but be impressed by the A.I. The same could be said for Alfred as he was still getting used to the presence of the A.I. John for now was allowed to stay in one of the guest rooms of the Wayne mansion.

John naturally asked if he could at least help with the upkeep of the place until he was going back to New York. Alfred was pleased to hear that but insisted that he was the one responsible for the upkeep of the mansion, and it would be better that he did his duty as butler to Bruce. There was a lot of respect and trust between Alfred and Bruce, that much that both John and Cortana.

…

Later…

John had decided to lock down his MJOLNIR and go in with his civilian clothes as he was in Bruce's limo with Alfred driving the vehicle to Waynetech. His cover his presence while he was in the city was that he was hired by Bruce to help with the construction of some of the new vehicles since he had been screened by the billionaire and was on a contract basis to help with the making of new vehicle engines from the blueprints sent by the Spartan. So far the only people who knew that John Desmond Mendez was the Master Chief were Bruce's wards and fellow protectors of Gotham along with Alfred himself.

Most would be questioning why Bruce would hire someone from the outside of his company, but Bruce had a solid reputation and thus not many would voice out loud their concerns. John himself was going to see if the engines would be made to the UNSC standard. So far the engine types were used for cars, trucks, and even smaller vehicles. So far only a handful of vehicles in Gotham were armed with these engines, but as time would pass, the effectiveness of the engines would convince more buyers to switch from regular gas guzzlers to these vehicles.

As soon as they got to the main building, John could not help but be impressed somewhat by the sight of Wayne Tower. He had seen a number of more impressive buildings in the UNSC, and even in the Covenant as well as the Forerunner. But that did not mean that th3 buildings in this reality were inferior. As they moved in, Bruce decided to give him some information on the location and where he had to go to see if the engines were up to the standard. He was also given a badge/ID recognition system to allow him to see just how the engines were assembled and if they were being made by the UNSC standard.

For most of the day, John did what Bruce asked and he also along with Bruce and Lucius were able to see the engines work. He was also able to test the engines himself along with the scientists who were there and so far, he gave news to Bruce and Lucius that the engines were all working well within their operational parameters. And that in itself was something that he was pleased to see since there had been little attempt to alter the engines for military use.

He could have given the government military grade Hydrogen engines, but he figured that it was not needed. That was because if the principles were understood, then the designs could be made and made to function properly. After all, the technology that was developed by the early days of his reality pretty much matched what was being developed here and now in this reality.

It was nearing the afternoon that Bruce called him in to the office.

'What's up?"

"I just got an invitation to a ball and while I normally would just let things, be, something or rather someone there is expecting me."

John raised an eyebrow at that and Bruce elaborated now that he and John were alone and there were no cameras and microphones in his office.

"During my training as a teen, I studied under a skilled stage escape artist who was known as Zatara, and his daughter Zatanna is a close friend of mine. She might have started out as a stage magician, but she has now discovered that she possesses actual magic and uses it for her work. She however also uses it from time to time dealing with crimes that deal in the more mystical nature."

John raised an eyebrow at that, and had it not been for his time here, he would have considered magic as parlor tricks and mere stories. But considering where he was, and some of the things he had seen, Aquaman and Atlantis being one of them, he was not going to cross magic out. He also made sure to speak to this Zatanna to see if there were dangers of the mystical nature that he had to on the lookout for alongside Diana.

He also decided to talk to the Amazon Princess if she knew of any magical beings in this world that might pose a threat to the people. And there was no doubt that if they did face those said threats, then at least he, Cortana, and Diana were prepared for them. Though Diana might be more used to such things by virtue of her origins and her place of birth so she would be the one to handle the situation and he would follow her lead.

"That sounds fair enough to me, so when to do we leave?"

"As soon as I am done doing some last minute checks and read some new reports on how the company is doing."

…

Later…

It was not long before he and Bruce arrived to the placer where Zatanna was performing, and when he saw Zatanna, he was quick to analyze the friend of Bruce and a potential ally of not just Bruce as Batman, but his own as well. John and Bruce soon arrived at the place where Zatanna would be performing and there was already a full house. However, Bruce's invitation allowed the two to enter the place with little difficulty. As soon as they were seated, they were served dinner so as to relax and enjoy the performance.

Soon he was introduced to Zatanna who was soon being greeted by the audience and Bruce. He saw her smile in greetings and knew that this was due to their past meetings. Most would think that her actions were mere parlor tricks, optical illusions, and the like. And normally he would agree, but he took Batman's word when it concerned Zatanna. And over time he did notice that there WAS something different about Zatanna's actions though no doubt only he and Bruce knew the truth.

After an hour or two, the magic show was over and soon the two of them were going back stage to meet the magic user.

Zatanna smiled as she was now back stage getting her things packed away as she knew that she still had a lot to do. But she turned a bit to see a reflection in her mirror and saw Bruce and someone else with him. A very tall someone else who certainly would get the attention of any woman and she could not help but smile at that as she got up and spoke while still wearing her performance clothes.

"You know that doing this is going to get tongues wagging Bruce."

Bruce nodded at that and replied.

"I know Zatanna, but I think that can be dealt with, it's good to see you though."

Zatanna smiled and moved towards the billionaire playboy/crime fighter and hugged Bruce as a friend. Sure she had more than friendly ideas and feelings towards Bruce or John Smith as he went by in the past. But that changed and she had to admit that while it was tempting to her to work with him while he was Batman, she was not all too sure about it, though he did come to her when it pertained to certain manners. Namely the occult arts ever since she had learned how to use magic, not the kind one used on stage, but actual magic.

She herself was still reeling from the discovery that she could use real magic, but had quickly gotten used to it. The other person who Batman turned to when the supernatural was involved was Jason Blood, the immortal knight who was cursed by that and the possession of the demonic soul by Merlin for his part in betraying Camelot to Morgaine Le Fay all those centuries ago. Bruce was never one to trust magic, but he knew the power it had so he did not allow his scientific mind to blind him to other possibilities.

She then directed her attention to the other man had could not help but like what she saw, he was tall obviously but well proportioned and had a frame that was battle hardened and he had very good looks as well and eyes. Still she decided to be objective as she needed to know who this was, as she had never seen this man in Bruce's company before.

"Care to tell me who your rather large and nice looking friend is Bruce, or do I have to hazard a guess?"

Bruce nodded and introduced John to Zatanna.

"This is John Desmond Mendez, a custom car manufacturer based from New York, I asked him here to help with some special projects for Waynetech."

Zatanna smiled at that and replied.

"So we have a native New Yorker in the city of Gotham huh? I always wanted to see if I could perform an act before the opening games at the Garden someday. So what brings you all the way out here apart from a chance to work in Waynetech?"

John sighed a bit and replied.

"Let's just say that there are some things that Bruce Wayne asked me to look into Miss Zatanna."

Zatanna grinned at that as she replied.

"I'll bet, so what is it like living in the city where you have two members of the League working there at the same time?"

Bruce looked at John and John sighed a bit and hoped that Bruce knew what he was doing as he spoke first, and then allow Bruce to drop the proverbial bombshell as it were.

"It's pretty interesting and a lot more peaceful."

Bruce then took the turn and spoke to Zatanna.

"Zatanna, he knows about me being Batman."

That got the attention of the magic user as she whirled around with surprise obvious on her face and she spoke.

"He does? And you don't seem bothered by it at all, why is that Bruce?"

"Because, John's full name is his cover, you already saw him as he really is, alongside Wonder Woman."

Zatanna was quick on the draw there and she spoke out her thoughts on that tidbit of information as she looked at the man with a very high level of surprise. She however quickly uttered a spell to place her room in a shell of magical silence. This way nothing that she and the others would say would not be heard by anyone who was lucky or unlucky enough to be near them.

"So HE is the Spartan huh? I have to admit that it's kind of hard to picture him as the Spartan at first glance. But now that you say that he is the Spartan I guess I should change my thoughts since you're not the kind to lie about something or someone."

The magic user walked over to John and decided to try and experiment though she decided to forward about it first. The spell she was going to use was something similar to an aura scan. This way she could see what sort of person he was.

"By the way, do you mind if I scan him Bruce?"

"Pardon?"

"It's a simple spell taught to me by someone who helped perfect my magic skills, don't worry, I just need to confirm something. You know that when you shot up those thugs from Intergang way back before being in the League, a LOT of people were not too happy about it. Some of them even thought you were a villain hiding as a hero."

"That's not the truth."

"Yeah, and since Bruce here seems to trust you and I did see you fight those aliens before, I am inclined to agree with you being a good guy. Bu in magic, there is always a need to be a lot more cautious. This is an aura scan spell, I don't really want to read your mind, I can bet that considering where you are from, you have been through some really brutal stuff so I am leaving that alone."

Both John and Bruce had to agree that they were relieved that Zatanna decided not to read his mind, the last thing they wanted was for her to see the things he had seen and done.

"All I am going to do is check your…aura that deals with your personality and morals, it's a very useful spell even though I am not that good with it yet. Now…hold still okay big guy?"

John decided to make himself relax and allow Zatanna to do what she wanted. He saw her being to chant something and soon he felt a strange warmth on his head which was coming from her hands. As he felt it, he felt the energy wash over his mind and since Bruce trusted Zatanna, he was going to trust her as well.

As she was doing this, Zatanna was quick to sense the personality and morals that this guy had on him, and she was rather surprised by what she was receiving. It was not the negative feeling of surprise but something else. Like all heroes, she had seen this guy in action and she wondered just what sort of guy he was as while he was a hero, he was willing to use lethal force. She soon sensed what she needed to sense and smile as she ended the spell and spoke to them.

"You've got a very interesting aura on you big guy. You might be trained to kill humans without hesitation, but you feel guilt when you do. You do it not for anything but a sense of duty, you show compassion and gentleness when you are with people who you trust and care for. You might not trust easy, but those who earn your trust have your loyalty to the end. You make a good show of hiding your emotions but you are a good man and you are very much a hero despite…the pain and tragedy you have been dealt with in the past."

John was silent for a moment or two as he waited for Zatanna to speak a bit more but he could already see that what she learned pleased the magic user. It still made him a bit uneasy at the fact that not only was there aliens on this reality living on Earth, but magic was actually real. What Bruce showed him about his own experiences with the supernatural convinced John that making alliances with those who use magic to fight threats that could use magic was a good idea. Cortana was going to have to be kept in the loop later on once they got back to the Batcave since he had to leave his MJOLNIR behind.

Zatanna smiled once more and soon moved away and spoke to the two heroes.

"That's it for today, I guess I can trust him as I trust you Bruce, so what else can I do for you two?"

Bruce sighed a bit and replied.

"I was hoping you can get us up to date on the news with the supernatural side of things, namely the less than respectable element. Not to mention I feel it's best that you have John get up to speed on the supernatural side of things."

The magic wielder smiled at that and replied.

"Well, so far I have not heard anything happening in the grapevine if you are talking about evil magic users so no worries…yet. But I promise you Bruce if I get some info, you and the League will be the first to know. Though I can bet Doctor Fate can be a better source of information. Speaking of which, why ask me to help teach the Spartan here about the supernatural matters since I've only had some months worth of experience?"

"I don't know Fate personally and while I respect him, I don't work with anyone I don't know about. You know that already Zatanna."

The dark haired woman smiled knowingly at that and replied.

"Okay, if you're big friend can come here every now and then to listen to what I have to tell him, then I am all right with it. Speaking of which, you two might want to head back, duty calls."

Both looked out the window and saw the trade-mark Bat-signal.

…

Later…

Commissioner Gordon looked over at the watch as night fell on Gotham City as he, Montoya, and Bullock were there on the roof. Out of all the officers he worked with Gordon trusted these two the most. Bullock might be a hard case and did not trust Batman that much, along with the others in the Bat Family as it were, but he did get along with Nightwing at the very least. It was not long before the gang arrived and Bullock replied with a comment.

"Great here come the freaks with the pyjamas."

Montoya elbowed him in the side to shut him up but anything else that was about to be said was cut short when the group, including Batman, Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl were soon joined by the Master Chief himself. The gathered police could not help but be surprised to see the super soldier land next to the group and then unlock his mean looking assault rifle. It was only due to the facts that, first he was with Batman and it seemed that Batman trusted him and so did the others, second was that he was a member of the Justice League and was a good guy. And the last was that none of them did not want to do something that MIGHT be seen as hostile.

That did not mean Bullock did not comment on the arrival of the Spartan.

"Great, now we have someone else join the party."

Gordon walked over to Batman and soon they spoke to one another.

"Glad to see you made it along with the others, never expected the Spartan to be here though."

"I know, what's the situation?"

Gordon got down to business as Batman suggested.

"We got word that Ivy and Harley have been robbing some banks recently, and it seemed they got some hired muscle for the job as well. Mostly some street hoods, the usual. But some of them appear to be a lot higher up in the ladder, no doubt are being controlled by Ivy so you know what that means."

Batman nodded and spoke next.

"Joker?"

"No sign of him, no doubt he and Harley had a falling out again and she's gone solo for a while before working with Ivy. We've managed to narrow down their current base of operations since it appears they are working near the abandoned docks area. Could be also their base of operations so we tried setting up sting operations but with Ivy, we're not taking chances so we're holding back."

"All right, we'll find them and stop them. Ivy usually does not care for money, but if she's doing this then she no doubt has bigger plans for the money."

John did not need to be close to them as his MJOLNIR recorded the conversation as he looked around and still cradled his weapon. He did have another weapon and that was the SRS99D S-2 AM Sniper Rifle which was also chambered with the TTRs as well so he was not carrying any live rounds, unless he had to. That was why he did carry live rounds with him but only as a last resort.

Bullock was still looking at the Spartan or rather the guns he had on him. He could not help but look at the futuristic guns and comment a bit at them.

"Man, makes me wish we had firepower like that around here, should give the crooks and any other riffraff we deal with around here."

Montoya spoke as well.

"Yeah well don't expect him to just hand them to you Bullock, you can try asking him though but I am curious why he's here. As far as I know he and that Wonder Woman are usually staying in New York."

"Must be here to help out the Bat on something, not sure why though."

John did not mind as at least he had his work cut out for him, soon he was greeted by Commissioner Gordon and the rest of the gang. Batman was soon the one to speak first to him.

"I and the others can handle this here, but since we're dealing with Ivy and Harley, make sure to be ready. Just try not to shoo t them."

"No worries, like I said, my weapons are only armed with TTRs."

The Dark Knight and his group soon left as John decided to follow them later, but not before he was called by the Police Commissioner.

"Spartan?"

John turned and replied.

"Can I help you sir?"

"I know I commented on this earlier but why are you here? Last I recall you were based in New York, it's not that I don't trust you since if Batman trusts you, then that means I can trust you . Still, why are you here?"

"Helping out Batman sir, but I am not here to interfere with his mission here in Gotham, I'll only make a move if the situation warrants intervention."

Bullock walked over and spoke to the Spartan while pointing at the guns he had.

"You happen to be planning to shoot some of the freaks with them?"

"Bullock!"

Montoya shouted a bit as she elbowed the man before he could say anything else that could make the situation a lot worse than before. John however replied to that question in a very calm fashion, after all he had done a LOT of shooting in the past and had no problem shooting people in battle.

"The weapons are only armed with TTRs, essentially paint balls with powerful anesthetic that will knock them out. I'm in Gotham not New York after all."

Bullock raised an eyebrow at that and decided to not care with the result and ask the next question.

"And if the nuts we deal with were in New York, what would you do?"

John looked briefly at Batman and sighed mentally as he knew this was going to be a source of discussion later on. He then faced the large set detective and replied.

"I'd beat them to near death, and if they don't change, I will shoot them with live rounds, considering their track records."

That naturally did not sit well with Batman but he kept himself cool about it since he knew John's origins and his history. The others were more varied, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin were surprised, Gordon, groaned, and Montoya was shocked, Bullock on the other hand, was smirking at the whole things and replied.

"Well now, I can say at least someone has his priorities straight. I might like this guy."

…

Later…

The group of heroes moved through the area and soon located Harley and Ivy and soon it was Robin who had reported that he had spotted the bank where the two women were holed up in along with the muscle they had with them. Or what Ivy had as she was still using her pheromones to control them. John removed his Sniper Rifle and quickly took out the connection cable of the weapon and loaded it into his MJOLNIR. Soon his HUDS interfaced with the weapon and he began to scan the area before him. It did not take very long for John to see them targets, holed up in a building at least two blocks away from their current location.

"I count at least six guards on the roof and walkways around the warehouse complex, they are armed with assault rifles, six more on the lower floor, three armed with Shotguns, and four more in the building itself. Fairly large builds and fit looking, no doubt the higher ranking muscle that Commissioner Gordon spoke of."

John's MJOLNIR scanners, being upgraded with Forerunner tech was more than able to do the work and it was not long before Batman did likewise as he scanned with his own binoculars. He confirmed what John had seen and spoke to the Spartan.

"Any luck spotting Ivy and Harley?"

John looked through the scope again and soon gave his report.

"Primary targets are at the fourth floor, inside the secondary room that used to be a generator room. Heavy growth of plant life in the area as well, too much to be a natural event and the plants appear to be mutated due to strange growths on them."

Batgirl sighed.

"Ivy's little pets, great, big chance some of them might have toxins."

Batman nodded as he could easily surmise that the plants might be like Ivy and that meant that they were going to have to get ready for anything.

"I have some of the left over serum to counter any toxins they might have, but I'll need to head back to get them."

Batgirl offered until John replied.

"No need, I'll get them and give them to you."

Batman nodded and John soon took off after disconnecting the wire from his MJOLNIR, leaving the heroes alone as he headed back to where the vehicles of the Bat Family were. Once he found them, he got back and soon the serum was distributed among the team and John went back to watching the team as they moved out.

…

John watched the whole event go down and he could not help but keep up as he followed Batman and Robin to see how the Dark Knight operated in his home turf with the rest of his group. He watched them take out the guards in the area, Batgirl and Robin were taking on the heavier and more well armed and physical goons as Batman and Robin went to deal with Ivy and Harley. He watched everything through the Sniper Rifle and made sure to not reach for the trigger since he did not have a very good lock on the targets.

He did see the vines soon attack Batman and Nightwing and it seemed that Ivy and Harley had made their move, but not before Harley managed to destroy the vials the two had on them. That meant that both Batman and Nightwing were out of the operation and the only ones on site to help them would be Batgirl and Robin an therefore Ivy and Harley would escape. This prompted John to make his move and intercept the two to stop them from escaping but he had to leave his Sniper Rifle for now, to get it later.

Ivy growled a bit as she unleashed more of her vines to slow down Batman and his ally Nightwing as she and Harley Quinn tried to escape the pair after they had acquired some cash and jewels while telling the rest of their goons to fight the other members of the Bat Family. As much as she did not need money, she knew that at times, having cash to buy the supplies she might need was a must. Harley once more had something of a falling out with Joker and they were once more working side by side.

She still did not understand why was it that Harley even cared about that creep with the pale skin and the less than loveable attitude and mindset. Joker in her mind was a psychopath and undeniably insane so why would someone as gifted and intelligent as Harley stoop to being his patsy? Not to mention the fact that they guy was a complete idiot for treating Harley like trash he could just throw away like that. She then decided to unleash some of her specially made toxins to slow the two down even further, she would have killed them, but with the police closing in, that would be a bad idea.

But just as they were about to get away from the still struggling pair and off into the streets of Gotham to blend in when they could, they found themselves facing the LAST person they ever wanted to meet.

The Master Chief…

John knew of them the very second he faced them, Pamela Isley and Harley Quinn, one was a recognized eco terrorist who was known to kill people without hesitation in her mission to defend nature. She as also a Meta-human due to the accident that altered her into what she was now and one such ability was to use plants as weapons, fairly unknown in his reality of course. Harley had once been a promising psychologist in the penal system but had somehow been converted to work with the Joker. A man who he personally feels deserved to be shot in the head to prevent him from doing his insane actions. As for him, he had decided to sit back and let Bruce and his crew deal with his city's criminals, but when Bruce and Dick had been hit by the toxin that Ivy used, he decided to see if he could distract them.

"I'd advise you to surrender right now."

Harley however took out a weapon that looked like a gun that had a punching glove in it and fired it at the Spartan with her saying.

"Sorry big guy, but I am not stopping for you!"

But before she could fire the weapon, the Spartan moved quickly, too quickly for Harley and Ivy to react and soon he was in front of the former criminal psychologist and grabbed the weapon out of her hands. He then quickly crushed the weapon and then turned to grab a bolt with steel tips fired at him by Ivy and without any trouble snapped it in half. Both women backed away only for Batman and company to arrive. Batman and Nightwing were still slightly affected by the toxins but Batgirl and Robin arrived in time with some of the special serum to counter it and they were ready for more, just as Batgirl and Robin arrived after subduing the last of Ivy's controlled goons.

John said nothing for a moment or two and replied afterwards.

"I think you should surrender now."

Ivy spoke to the massive human in armor.

"Why the heck aren't you attacking us?"

"You two are the ones Batman deals with in Gotham, this is his city so only thing I did was slow you down. Now if you two were in New York, the situation would have been different."

Before they could try and escape they were attacked by the Bat Family just as the police arrived, and soon had no choice but to give up. Both Ivy and Harley were soon carted off as John moved towards the heroes, he was concerned if the two were still all right from the toxins that they got hit from.

"You both all right?"

Nightwing nodded.

"Yeah, good thing Robin and Batgirl got the serums in time and helped with the rest of Ivy's little goon squad, surprised you didn't…you know, shoot them."

Batman looked at Nightwing with a glare as John replied.

"If they were in New York, I would have, but this is Batman's area so I just made them stop long enough, until you both recovered."

The Spartan nodded to Batman and he nodded back, he might not have said it, but the Spartan's actions did help and the fact that he did not shoot Poison Ivy and Harley was a good thing. He still wished that Pamela would change her ways, but he was not sure that it was such a good idea at times, she was so driven to protect nature and did a lot of things to make her case even worse. The fact that she had at times blamed him for her transformation into what she was now did not endear her to him along with all the things as well. He had higher hopes for Harley though since despite working with Joker and being in love with that maniac, Harley was not unreasonable and actually had attempted to walk away more than once from Joker, though that usually did not last very long. But the effort she made told Bruce that she still had a chance to walk away from a life that would one day either kill her or worse.

They soon restrained the two female villains and Ivy looked at the Spartan intently just as the police arrived and they were being hauled back to Arkham. The female eco-terrorist heard of the Spartan' contributions to technology and she had to admit that she was curious about these engines of his. Engines that in what she was able to read, were shown to use all forms of water instead of gas and in turn did not pollute the land or release larger amounts of green house gases into the atmosphere which made the land a lot more unstable. This surprised her a great deal and she was looking at the man a bit more despite the armor he wore.

An idea began to form in her mind as she was taken away.

…

For the next few days, John and Cortana were busy helping Bruce with the installation of the new engines into the various vehicles Bruce used. They had to scan the vehicles first and then use a design diagram in order to study the designs more to allow for better fusion of the UNSC tech with the vehicles that Bruce used. Then they would begin to work on the vehicles using the blue prints as well as testing the vehicle prototypes together to work out any bugs and also install features that could help as well as security locks. And apart from doing these things, John suggested some things to Batman to use for his other tools. Namely this included the idea of having his uniform being armored with a form of armor from the UNSC known as Kevlar Diamond Weave.

Essentially while it was older tech, it could be useful in increasing the overall strength of the suit's protective qualities and would be easy to hide. Bruce thought about it and while he did not give a full answer, John did not mind since it was up to Bruce to accept his help or not. On that very same note he was usually working with him alongside Cortana to help keep crime down but like before he never interfered with Batman's work and that of his team.

He had gone with them both in his civilian cover and his real identity to observe the group in action and he liked how they did their job. They usually focused only on their objectives and help people as much as they could. Many might comment on why they did not have a much harsher stance towards criminals and even he wondered about that, but he did not bother them while on the field as he was not part of their team and he was in their backyard.

The various super criminals he saw thus far were definitely dangerous and more than once, John was tempted to end their lives. People like the Joker, Killer Croc, Clay Face, and many others were definitely major threats and he had made it clear to himself and to Bruce that if he ever caught them in New York, he was going to send them back to Gotham in casts.

Bruce was not pleased with it, but he understood the reason behind John's claim and so far, John had not done anything to get on his bad side. And when they were working together, John kept his promise and kept himself out of the sight of the villains and usually held back and provide support, namely when it came to locating possible traps due to the highly advanced sensors and systems of his MJOLNIR. The most serious moment was when he warned them of the sound of a timing device in a warehouse.

He scanned the warehouse and pointed out that the target was a trap set up by Black Mask for him and the others. This prevented the Bat family from walking into a death trap and they were soon able to take out the bombs before giving Black Mask and his goons the surprise of their lives.

The Spartan also worked alongside the other members to get a feel for them, Barbara was very quick witted and also very skilled in her own right. She also possessed a great deal of abilities and was quite capable as far as his observations of her told him. He even admitted that she would have made an excellent addition to the UNSC Marine, Army, Air Force, or Navy. He also felt that she would be also considered a viable candidate for the ODSTs, and the Pathfinders. The same also applied for Nightwing and even Robin when the youngest member of the Bat Family would be at the right age.

Bruce nodded a bit at that and John also explained to the three in question just who the ODSTs and the Pathfinders were. The three did not know how to take that but did not mind since they also found working with John to be interesting. One of John's greatest contributions was to give the Batcave a full blown Medical Bay armed with the finest medical technology that the UNSC could have, along with some Covenant technology and some Forerunner tech. In that regard he also decided to ask Bruce if he did not mind having a Hydrogen reactor as a backup power source.

Bruce agreed after a few days when Cortana handed him the specs and soon the parts for said reactor were brought it. It took some time but at least this way the power supplied by the reactor would help cut down on the power supplies they needed for the Bat Cave, and save up on funds for any other project that Batman needed. And also stocks of polypseudomorphine, bone knitting polymers, and other medical gear as brought in as well as new supplies of Bio-foam. They also took the time to place in built in medical kits in the vehicles loaded with the best gear they could fit in to ensure that if the Bat Family were in the field, they had want they needed to patch one another up without having to go to a hospital and possibly risk their identities being compromised. The medical data of the team was also placed into the database of the4 medical suite to make sure that whoever was being treated had all the right medicines and treatment ready for them.

Alfred also was trained on how to use the gear and supplies here and on occasion when the Bat family or Batman himself got injured but was able to make it back to the Batcave, the medical suite, operated by the butler was able to make him fully recover with less complications and injuries.

…

All in all, the visit was very fruitful for both heroes as John had been able to fully upgrade the vehicles Bruce used for his mission and these would naturally improve his chances. The same could be said for Nightwing who went back to Bludhaven with his newly upgraded motorbike, the same for Batgirl and also Robin.

As John sat before the fireplace and looked at the portrait of Thomas and Martha Wayne, he could not help but admit that in the picture, Bruce's parents were good people and while he had no doubt that the Dark Knight missed them, he felt that they were proud of what he had done to stop others from suffering the same fate. In a way, he felt a kinship with the Dark Knight despite their differing histories and backgrounds, he willingly gave up his future as a normal person to make sure to give others a future, while he was willing to give up his own future to make sure that no one lost his own family.

Bruce soon joined him and John spoke.

"You're parents were good people."

Bruce nodded and replied to that.

"That they were, I can only hope that I can say to them that I am doing a good job."

"True…"

"Chief, do you miss your parents? And I mean your real parents?"

John turned to Bruce and gave a slight nod.

"Sometimes, I remember how my mother used to smile and how she smelled of soap, I recall my father's pride in me and how he used to be supportive of me no matter what. I do miss them, even if I don't remember them as much as I hoped."

Bruce nodded at that and knew that he was luckier in a sense than John, he got to be with his family, even to their last moments.

"We both made hard choices, but I guess we have done them for the right reasons to ourselves."

"True. And while we have differences, our goals will always be the same, to protect people from any threat. Inside and out as well."

The two heroes nodded soon Bruce shook John's hand as John's time in Gotham was about to come to an end, he was needed in New York and at least his time here was all good. There would be time for them to work together again and Bruce was leased that John was on their side, for as long as he was needed.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

There we are, the latest chapter and I hope manages to deal with John's time with Bruce while in the Dark Knight's nick of the woods. It's not my best work to be honest, and I have no doubt I have made some flaws, but with time constraints and my PC being in the repair mode, I had to make due with what I had t work with.

So I apologize in advance if this did not meet the standard and hope that you will forgive the errors…A LOT is happening right now to me and my folks back home so I had a lot on my mind.

…

And on a lighter note, I am going to start working on the Injustice Gang arc once I am finished with the rest of the arc that has John bonding with the members of the Justice League. On the next chapter I plan to have John work alongside none other than John Stewart himself and that is where we can get to see just how the two would get along.

Remember that since both are soldiers though Stewart is no longer a Marine, they can relate to one another better since technically none of the League had lived the military lifestyle, with the possible exception of Diana due to her people's upbringing. I can imagine just how the two will work side by side while John is with Stewart. Plus I might as well have John give Stewart a vehicle for his civilian life, I can bet that the Green Lantern will like the idea of having a vehicle of his own.

The next after Green Lantern will possibly be J'onn, I plan to have him and John go to Mars and there, perhaps J'onn will ask if John and Cortana could use their terra-forming technology to make Mars habitable in the foreseeable future. I also have this rather oodball idea in my head at some point in time.

And that is to bring in none other than Miss Martian, not really sure just how I am going to do that, but having a niece who somehow survived the genocide of the Martians is going to be really make J'onn's day. Not too sure just HOW I will pull it off, but at least it is going to be worth a shot right? And it should be very interesting how things will play out for the League in the long run once they start to form the expanded Justice League.

…

One concern I have is with Hawkgirl since we all know her real reason for being on Earth, so I think that she would do her best to keep herself hidden. So I figured that after some time, I will not have her interact with John due to a mission that takes her from Earth alongside maybe Stewart. That way she is not around, but this will also allow John and Diana to socialize due to the coming celebration she has in mind.

I am thinking of them heading to Greece since Diana feels very much at home there, head off to the countryside and have some old style games of the ancient Greeks and play some music Cortana had been able to make that will fit Diana's cultural and social past. There they will also have a competition of sorts between them and here John and Diana will be able to bond/

Now BEFORE people get funny ideas, it's not going to be romantic, lime, or lemon in nature, that is too much yet. It is just going to be a few friendly competitions and games for them first to get to know one another and also to enjoy the chance to work side by side. We'll get to the more intimate parts LATER you perverts!

…

Afterwards, we'll have John deal with a supernatural foe which will be the one who will make the mystical villain in John's own rogue gallery and here we will see John work with Diana and also Zatanna since she will be there in New York so you can bet they will be working together. This should be fun and could also be an opening for Zatanna to be one day part of the League.

And also I will be working on how Diana will feel when she meets Mari again along with Zatanna who hang out with the Master Chief. She might begin to feel a bit more…protective than before with John so we'll just have to wait and see now won't we?

And before you ask…yes Ivy DOES have plans in mind for John…some of which might be cause for concern for Batman in the near future.

…

See you soon!


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